The right to be disappointed about what? Those who only live in the past will be destined to be disappointed, because the past was never as good as you remember it. Tennessee always played some of the top teams in the country. They also played a lot of mediocre teams like Depaul, Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion, etc. long after those programs were competitive. They were long-standing rivals so people didn’t mind it, but Tennessee never got anything truly competitive out of any of those games after the mid-90s.
Second, Tennessee used to be able to get teams to come and play here because they had a TV contract with regional cable companies that guaranteed every game would be televised, at a time where most programs, even those in power conferences, were only guaranteed to be on television two or three times a year. Now, every game is available on TV or streaming, Good teams don’t need to come here to get on TV.
Third, you can say you’re disappointed, but what exactly is Tennessee supposed to do? Stanford canceled a scheduled game with us, and with a couple of other programs as well. UConn would only play on one of two dates, neither of which the SEC schedule could accommodate. Most major programs are only allowed to make two flights outside of conference play. It’s unfortunate, and it shouldn’t happen, but it’s a financial reality in college sports right now. So those programs are picking their spots carefully. The fact that Tennessee has the quality games that it does at home is a testament to still trying to hold on to the old anyone, anywhere mentality at a time that most programs don’t embrace it.
Finally, Tennessee is probably going to play in a multi team event every November going forward because that’s the best way to get quality opponents on the schedule. Last year, it was the Battle for Atlantis and some really good teams down there. This year, it’s Indiana and Oklahoma down in Florida. It would be a lot more fun to have those games home and away, but if you were a team like one of those two that can only make one or two flights a year, they are going to do it to an MTE to get two good games instead of just one.
But to continue to bang the drum of being disappointed, or to continue to be critical of Tennessee for it, is just living in the past and not accepting the reality of college sports. This isn’t the 1990s where only five or six teams care about women’s basketball and all five or six of them are on the schedule every year. When Pat was scheduling like she was, there might only be one team in the SEC that was a legitimate threat. Now there are four or five in a given year. That’s a factor as well.
