The Decade of the Vols was supposed to start this time last year. According to Tennessee System President Randy Boyd, the Vols were a year off on that prediction.

We’ll get to that in a moment, but after a string of bad news for Tennessee’s program in recent days, the Volunteers managed to lure one of the nation’s rising stars in the athletics world to come serve as the new athletic director at the University of Tennessee.

On Thursday, just three days after Phillip Fulmer “retired” from his role as AD in Knoxville, Tennessee officially announced the hiring of former Central Florida AD Danny White.

“I am thrilled to be headed to Knoxville and to a university with a great competitive tradition and a spirited and devoted fan base,” White expressed in a released statement. “Volunteer fans have an expectation to win, and my first task will be taking on the search for a new head football coach. But I want all Vols to know that I am deeply committed to excellence in all of our athletic programs.”

While Jeremy Pruitt famously said this would be the decade of the Vols following Tennessee’s 23-22 win over Indiana in the 2019 Gator Bowl, Tennessee System President Randy Boyd said that era begins now, following the hiring of White.

“Danny White is a great fit for the programs we are building at Tennessee,” Boyd said in a statement. “He combines a strong vision for competitive excellence with a deep commitment to winning with integrity. The greatest decade in UT Athletics begins now.”

Boyd then doubled down on the statement on Twitter:

One thing is for sure, the new leaders at Tennessee aren’t afraid to set the bar extremely high on Rocky Top.