Tennessee’s marching band has issued a statement saying it’s in a “bitter battle” with the athletic department regarding a reduction in travel and a reduced role at home football games.
The Pride of the Southland Band said last week its travel budget was “slashed.” The band also said it has been “reduced to playing the team’s fight song after touchdowns and a few seconds of music in between plays” at home games while commercials and pre-recorded music play at other times.
The complaints were first reported by the Knoxville News Sentinel.
The athletic department released a statement, saying the band is “a much valued and integral part of the university” and the band’s operating budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year was reduced by only 0.8 percent.
Florida: The Gators entered Saturday’s game giving up an average 217 yards and 12.2 points per game. LSU picked up 200 yards and scored 14 points in the first half.
Georgia: The Bulldogs have played 14 true freshmen. Ten freshmen have played on defense, including five who have started at least one game.
Kentucky: DT Dante Rumph is the nephew of Alabama DL coach Chris Rumph. He’s one of seven Wildcats from Alabama. … Kentucky closes its first four-game stretch against ranked teams; the Wildcats have lost to No. 7 Louisville, No. 19 Florida and No. 13 South Carolina.
Missouri: With Saturday’s victory over Georgia, Missouri became the first SEC team to qualify for a bowl game. The Tigers’ eight-year streak of being bowl eligible ended last season with a 5-7 record. Saturday’s victory also marked Missouri’s first defeat of a top-10 team on its home field since beating No. 2 Nebraska in 1978.
South Carolina: Coupled with Georgia’s 41-26 loss to Missouri, the victory put the Gamecocks back in the thick of the SEC East hunt. “Right now, we’re in good shape,” coach Steve Spurrier said. “Can we continue is the big question.”
Vanderbilt: WR Jordan Matthews continues his ascension up the Vanderbilt and SEC career receiving charts. With 2,873 yards, Matthews ranks 11th on the SEC’s yardage list, third on Vandy’s. With 91 yards, Matthews can pass Boo Mitchell (1985-88) to become the school’s all-time yardage leader, and he needs just 220 yards to pass Georgia’s Terrence Edwards (1999-2002) for the league mark. Vanderbilt, which was off Saturday, hosts Georgia next week.
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