The loyal members of the Tennessee football team and their fan base have suffered enough. 

The University of Tennessee administration commissioned a full-blown review of possible rules violations in its football program in the fall of 2020 and quickly cleaned house by firing the head coach and all staff members involved for cause, removing the athletics director immediately and all student-athletes involved have either transferred or paid a penalty. The damage already done to the UT football program is significant:
The university was forced to hire a new head coach and staff. While there is hope that new coach Josh Heupel and his organization will be successful, such upheaval makes it extremely challenging for the program to compete in the toughest conference in America.
Coach Heupel is trying his best to recruit while the cloud of the investigation and possible penalties hang over him and his program. Things could change, but right now UT's 2021-22 recruiting class is ranked very low by the school's standards and Tennessee might fail to sign a top 10 player in its home state for the first time since such rankings were implemented. 

By signing this petition, members of Vol Nation are demanding that the university's leadership (Governor Bill Lee, UT Board of Trustees Chairman John Compton, System President Randy Boyd, UTK Chancellor Donde Plowman and Director of Athletics Danny White) lock arms and inform the SEC and NCAA that no further damage will be self-imposed or tolerated. 

Here are the reasons why we feel so strongly this action should be taken:

Since the university undertook its massive self-investigation and dealt decisively with those involved, NCAA extra benefits rules have changed dramatically since the association suffered a stinging loss and rebuke by the U.S. Supreme Court and was forced to relent on Name, Image & Likeness rules on July 1, 2021. The changes have been so dramatic, the NCAA President has already spoken clearly about dramatic change in the association's scope going forward and the reshaping of the association composition and rules is underway. The goal is to ratify the sweeping change brought about on July 1 by next January. 
The impact of the relaxing of the rules has been stark. Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban used the official SEC Media Days platform to boast of a Tide player making nearly a million dollars already. Does anyone in the UT administration think his message was not pointed to potential recruits?
Enough is enough. Nothing will be gained by depriving these student-athletes and fans of striving for a bowl reward. No matter where or when that bowl game might be played, Vol Nation will support this head coach and players as they work diligently to start the rebuild of this great program's tradition. As the great Pat Summitt would say to the administration: "Suck it up, Buttercup!"
 

GBO