Tennessee fans volunteering to ‘boycott’ lackluster games

Knoxville —- Tennessee student Kristin Childrey just assumed she and her friends would attend every home football game last season.

That’s not the case this year.

“It’s not a priority anymore,” said the 19-year-old sophomore, who has been to two of three home games. “If you’ve got something else to do, you just skip it.”

She’s not alone as the Vols have started 2-3 with an embarrassing loss to SEC rival Florida and unconvincing wins over UAB and Northern Illinois at home.

The average fan attendance at Neyland Stadium through the first three games was 97,194 —- a few thousand below capacity —- and down by nearly 4,000 from what Tennessee averaged through the first three games last season in a similar start.

The comparison isn’t perfect. A more sluggish economy, weather and regional gas shortages have played a role this season. Also for the first time, students have to pay for their game tickets at the cost of $15 a game or $90 for the season.

The student section is responsible for 70 percent of the drop so far, with poor turnout for the UAB and Northern Illinois games.

“It’s almost like a boycott,” said Evan Baddour, a 21-year-old senior who skipped Saturday night’s game against Northern Illinois because of a prior engagement. “At first, it was kind of rebelling against having to pay for tickets, but within my group of friends, [coach Phillip] Fulmer is really the source of what people see as the problem.”

Fans began calling for Fulmer to be fired, much as they did last season after the Vols suffered big losses at California, Florida and Alabama. They said the dean of the SEC coaches was past his prime.

Tennessee responded last season by winning the rest of its games and earning a spot in the SEC title game before losing there. Fulmer was rewarded with a new contract worth an average $3 million annually over the next seven seasons with built-in raises each season, raises for an SEC championship or BCS bowl appearance and an automatic one-year extension for every eight-win season.

He also has a pretty hefty buyout: Getting rid of him this season would cost the Tennessee athletics department $6 million.

At that price, fans say Fulmer shouldn’t have so much trouble winning big games and blowing out mediocre nonconference opponents.

Athletics director Mike Hamilton said that kind of passion comes with the job at Tennessee.

“The good news is, that by being at a place like Tennessee, you subject yourself to both sides of that equation,” he said. “When we’re doing well, they’re going to cheer extra hard. And when we’re struggling a little bit, they’re going to let us know about it. I think that’s one of the good things about being at a place like Tennessee.”

Vols wide receiver Denarius Moore has noticed more empty seats, but he’s been trying to persuade his teammates not to worry too much.

“I was telling some of the wide receivers that just consider fans like a tree,” he said. “Sometimes you’re going to kind of lose some of the leaves. Sometimes you’re going to lose some tree branches, but you’re always going to have some strong roots.”

Hamilton acknowledges the next month is critical. Tennessee travels to No. 10 Georgia on Saturday, with a trip to South Carolina and home games against Mississippi State and No. 2 Alabama in that stretch.