George R. “Bob” Woodruff

1916–2001

Athletics director from 1963 to 1985, Bob Woodruff entered UT in 1935 as a nonscholarship freshman to study engineering and play football. Woodruff, a native of Athens, Ohio, was a standout tackle on General Neyland’s teams of 1936–38. After graduation, Woodruff coached on Neyland’s staff for two years, served in the army during World War II, and helped coach two West Point teams to national championships in 1944–45 under coach Earl Blaik. He was line coach under Tennessee alumnus Bobby Dodd at Georgia Tech in 1946, head coach at Baylor in 1947–49, and head coach and athletics director at Florida 1950–59. He returned to Tennessee as assistant coach in 1961–62 and was named athletics director in 1963. He built a well-rounded athletics program, one that claimed eight SEC all-sports championships in 16 years. Vol teams during Woodruff’s 22 years as athletics director won SEC titles in basketball, tennis, swimming, cross-country, track, baseball, golf, and football. The Athletics Director’s Suite was named for Woodruff by a gift from Bill and Kay Stokely, on February 19, 2014.

Citation Information

The following information is provided for citations.

  • Title George R. “Bob” Woodruff
  • Coverage 1916–2001
  • Author
  • Keywords George R. “Bob” Woodruff
  • Website Name Volopedia
  • Publisher University of Tennessee Libraries
  • URL
  • Access Date July 9, 2025
  • Original Published Date
  • Date of Last Update October 20, 2018