The Dance Team is an official team of the UT athletics program, offering full and partial scholarships to members who are competitively chosen from among female applicants for the team. The dance team program began in 1986 with tryouts for the Volettes, who would perform at men’s basketball games. Dr. WJ Julian, director of bands, started the group, along with Mr. James Sparks, one of his assistants. Sixteen women were chosen from the 66 who turned up for the tryouts in June 1986.
The dance team uses a variety of styles, from pom to funk to jazz. The team performs at men’s home basketball games and pep rallies. In 1995 the Pom Pon Squad, coached by Kim Patterson, was first invited to a national championship and placed fifth. In 2007 the Dance Team won its first national championship competing at the Milk House in Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando—a performance for which some 150 Tennessee fans followed the team to attend and for which there was a packed house. It followed with national championships in 2008 and 2009.