Tennessee
Why does Lady Vols softball wear blue uniforms? Explaining story behind ‘Summitt Blue’ jersey
Tune into a playoff game for the first time and you will come across some unique, and maybe outlandish, uniforms that teams wear. It’s even the strategy some use to make their bracket come March Madness.
Tennessee softball is one of them.
The No. 3 seed Lady Vols (43-10 overall, 19-5) are playing for their ninth berth to the Women’s College World Series this weekend in the Knoxville Super Regional against SEC-foe No. 14 seed Alabama, starting on Friday, May 24 at 4 p.m. ET.
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Though the Lady Vols wear “traditional” Tennessee color uniforms, white and “Smokey Grey” they also have an alternate uniform that stands out on TV: “Summitt Blue.”
And so, as the Lady Vols look to pick up two more wins to return to the WCWS for the second straight year, curiosity has risen on the origin story of their “Summitt Blue” uniforms and why the Lady Vols wear them. Here’s what you need to know:
Why does Lady Vols softball wear blue uniforms?
To the average fan who does not pay close attention to Lady Vols games, blue may not look right in the color scheme for Tennessee — considering the Vols logo is orange and the men’s basketball and football programs alternate between white, orange and “Smokey Grey” uniforms — and that is a fair assessment, but there is some history to it.
And it is a two-fold answer.
The “blue accent color”, as it was called by Tennessee’s website, first debuted with the Lady Vols women’s basketball team in 1968 due to uniform manufacturing companies not offering orange uniforms. In response to this, Tennessee’s women’s athletic director emeritus Joan Cronan decided on the Lady Vols home uniforms to be Columbia blue with orange lettering and piping on them. That is how the “blue accent” was born.
But in 2022, as part of the NCAA celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Tennessee renamed its “blue accent color” to “Summitt Blue” in honor of legendary Lady Vols and women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt. Summitt, of course, was a pioneer for women’s sports across her 38-year career coaching on Rocky Top, which featured eight national championships and a 1,098-208 career coaching record.
That season, Tennessee unveiled “Summitt Blue” uniforms for women’s basketball, women’s soccer, softball and volleyball.
“Tennessee’s history as a worldwide leader in women’s athletics, along with the Lady Vols’ unique legacy of excellence are traditions we are proud to celebrate,” Tennessee vice chancellor and director of athletics Danny White said in a 2022 press release. “As some of our teams recently saw their new Summitt Blue uniforms for the first time, they reacted with a joy and enthusiasm that I hope will extend to our fans and proud alumni.”
Tennessee softball team first debuted its “Summitt Blue” uniforms down Puerto Vallarta, Mexico last season for the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge. Since then, the uniform has stayed in the rotation as the Lady Vols also wear their traditional white uniform with orange lettering and piping down the side and “Smokey Grey” uniform with orange lettering and piping down the side during weekend series.
How Tennessee basketball made it back to third straight Elite Eight appearance
Tennessee basketball wanted to exploit Iowa State’s lack of depth in its 76-62 Men’s NCAA Tournament win
For the third straight season, Rick Barnes has Tennessee basketball in the Elite Eight. After Sunday, March 29’s game against No. 1 Michigan, he’s hoping to have taken the Vols where they’ve never been before.
Despite becoming a March Madness fixture, the Tennessee Vols have never, in their history, made the Final Four. Despite a pedigree of modest success, including 11 regular season SEC titles and and five conference tournament championships (most recently in 2022), Tennessee has not been able to cross the threshold to college basketball’s most coveted weekend.
The Barnes era marks the closest Tennessee has come, with consistency, even though its best shot arguably came before Barnes’ time. The Vols’ first Elite Eight trip was under Bruce Pearl in 2010, while Barnes was still roaming the Longhorns bench in Texas.
Barnes has taken Tennessee to the 2024, 2025, and 2026 Elite Eights. There’s an argument to be made 2026 is his most impressive run yet, as a No. 6 seed in the Midwest bracket.
The Vols went as a No. 2 seed in both 2024 and 2025, ultimately losing to the No. 1 seeds of their respective brackets in the Elite Eight. While it could be easy to think it will be more of the same Sunday against No. 1 Michigan, Tennessee has now taken down No. 3 Virginia and No. 2 Iowa State to get to this point. So perhaps one more upset is in store.
Has Tennessee basketball ever made a Final Four?
Tennessee has not made a Final Four in its history, making it one of five SEC schools to not get to the national semifinal round.
The others are Missouri, Mississippi, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt. Alabama basketball made its first Final Four in 2024.
Tennessee basketball Elite Eight record
The Vols are 0-4 in the Elite Eight, with losses in 2010, 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Here’s a look at their full history in the fourth full round of the tournament.
- 2010: No. 5 Michigan State 70, No. 6 Tennessee 69
- 2024: No. 1 Purdue 72, No. 2 Tennessee 66
- 2025: No. 1 Houston 69, No. 2 Tennessee 50
- 2026: TBD, vs. No. 1 Michigan
Rick Barnes Elite Eight record
Barnes is not just defined by his career at Tennessee. He does have a Final Four appearance, winning his first Elite Eight game with Texas in 2003. Since then, though, he is 0-4 in the Elite Eight, with two losses at both Texas and Tennessee.
Tennessee football and coach Josh Heupel picked up a commitment from Brentwood Academy four-star wide receiver Kesean Bowman on March 28 while he was visiting the school.
Bowman narrowed his list to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Ohio State, Alabama and Miami on March 2. All five schools were among his top 10 he acknowledged on Oct. 30. Texas, LSU, USC, Texas A&M and Oregon were among the schools left off his list.
The 6-foot, 174-pound Bowman is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the state for the 2027 class. He is the No. 6 wide receiver nationally, according to 247Sports Composite. He has more than 35 other offers. He decommitted from Oregon last September, more than two months after committing to the Ducks.
Bowman was a Division II-AAA Mr. Football semifinalist, who caught 49 passes for 665 yards and 11 TDs, during BA’s 2025 state runner-up season. He also had a rushing TD and was named the DII-AAA West Region Offensive MVP. He was named to The Tennessean’s 2025 All Midstate Large Class football team and is a Middle Tennessee Sports Awards offensive football player of the year nominee.
Bowman helped BA finish 11-1 in 2025, losing to Baylor in the DII-AAA state championship game.
Tennessee and Heupel have also offered Brentwood Academy offensive tackle Rance Brown, a 6-6, 290-pound lineman who transferred from Southside (Alabama). The Vols are pursuing BA junior four-star linebacker Kenneth Simon II as well.
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
He also contributes to The Tennessean’s high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.
The Tennessee Titans have made some improvements throughout the offseason and appear better positioned heading into the draft than they were in 2024, with added depth on both sides of the ball.
Yet, even with the added talent, they still have multiple needs they must continue to address to help both now and in the future, and another solid draft would go a long way in finding a sustainable path forward. Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated looked at the roster and saw some of the same things as he broke down their remaining needs heading into the draft.
Tennessee Titans
Draft needs: RB, WR, edge, S
The running back duo of Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears hasn’t been a productive one. Cam Ward desperately needs a game-changer at one of the skill positions. Newcomer wideout Wan’Dale Robinson doesn’t exactly fit that bill, but he’ll make life easier for the second-year quarterback.
With Robert Saleh now the head coach in Tennessee, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Titans used the No. 4 pick on one of the top edge rushers.
There is no doubt that the Titans should add some playmakers in this draft class, and they shouldn’t bank on hitting a dynamic playmaker in the fourth round again. Tennessee could definitely use a premium pick on at least one or possibly two offensive weapons.
Tennessee also must invest in the interior of the offensive line to help Cam Ward and the offense. While it’s true that Pollard and Spears did not blow the doors off the running game, they were also hampered by subpar play along the offensive line for the past two seasons, after line guru Bill Callahan failed to transform the Titans’ line into a consistent unit. It wasn’t until after he and his son Brian Callahan left that the play-calling for the running game took off.
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