Student Issue, 1967—Post-Basketball Game Disturbance

On Monday, March 6, 1967, the UT men’s basketball team won their first Southeastern Conference title since 1943 by beating Mississippi State with two free throws by Bill Justus with six seconds remaining in the third overtime. In Knoxville, there was much exuberance over the win. A power failure that blacked out Humes, Reese, New West A (Massey), Fraternity Park, and the surrounding area south of Cumberland Avenue spawned panty raids at first at Humes, then at Clement Hall. Knoxville city police were called and responded with cruisers and police dogs. A crowd of several thousand students began blocking Cumberland Avenue (12:05 a.m.) and rocked a car. Police responded by blocking Cumberland Avenue with police cars to divert a planned march downtown. In front of the university center, the crowd chanted, “We want tear gas.” At 12:25 a.m., police dogs were used to disperse the crowd. Five persons were arrested, three of whom were UT students, and 25 students faced disciplinary action.