Legendary UT football coach General Robert Reese Neyland established “Game Maxims” he stressed as keys to victory to his teams prior to each game during his tenure as the Vols’ head coach (1926–52). Every Tennessee team since Neyland’s days has recited seven of Neyland’s maxims (the seven were part of a larger list) just prior to kickoff. In 2001 former Tennessee players led UT fans in reciting the maxims before each home game, with the maxims listed on the Jumbotron.
The maxims are
- The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.
- Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way—SCORE.
- If at first the game—or the breaks—go against you, don’t let up . . . put on more steam.
- Protect our kickers, our QB, our lead and our ball game.
- Ball, oskie, cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle for this is the WINNING EDGE.
- Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.
- Carry the fight to our opponent and keep it there for 60 minutes.