In 1937 the legislature passed a Reorganization Act, which required that funds of state agencies be held and dispensed through the appropriate state office in Nashville. UT was not mentioned in the bill, but Governor Browning and other state officials contended that the bill covered the university. The state budget director, Henry Burke, devised a … Continued

From 1961 to 1973, women’s athletics teams operated as sports clubs through the Student Aquatic Center. Basketball and volleyball had competed as club sports since 1961; tennis since 1963; field hockey and track and field since 1969; and badminton, gymnastics, and swimming since 1972. Under the Sports Club concept, funds for all 36 clubs were … Continued

The first recorded intercollegiate men’s game was baseball, April 3, 1875.

The first intercollegiate game played by UT women was basketball in 1903. An away game, the final score was Maryville, 10; UT, 1.

The first recorded attendance of an international student appears in the 1841 catalog, which lists Stamos S. Trikaliotes of Athens, Greece, as a senior. He received the AB degree the same year. Trikaliotes also earned a master’s degree from the university in 1844 and became both the first international student to earn an undergraduate degree … Continued

Dr. Bradley W. Fenwick, professor of Pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine, was one of 13 scientists chosen by the Department of State to serve as a Jefferson Science Fellow for 2011. He was the first UT faculty member to be named to the program and the first veterinarian. The fellowships were created in … Continued

Delta Beta Gamma, a local Jewish fraternity, was founded in 1925. It was installed as Psi Chapter of the national Jewish fraternity Phi Alpha in 1928.

The first Jewish sorority established on campus was Tau Sigma in 1930. The first national Jewish sorority on campus was Alpha Epsilon Phi, which chartered UT’s Alpha Sigma Chapter in 1948. Alpha Epsilon Phi became inactive in 1977.

Safety Eric Berry, a junior from Fairburn, Georgia, was named the Jim Thorpe Award winner on December 10, 2009, on his second trip to the finals for the award. The Jim Thorpe Award for the best defensive back in college football was created in 1986. It was conceived by former Oklahoma City talk show host … Continued

Dr. Michael Goldman performed the first kidney transplant at UT hospital on February 27, 1985. The recipient, Frank E. Smith, age 37, received a healthy kidney from his sister, Beverly Bonds, age 36.