It was a red-letter day for a number of Tennessee Vols, both current and former, on Saturday. Seven VFLs were inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame as part of their 2025 class: Deon Grant, Andy Kelly, Doug Mathews, Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings, Ron Slay, and Chris Woodruff. Additionally, Rick Barnes received the Pat Summitt Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hall.
Deon Grant, a legend on the field and now in the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. #tshf2025 pic.twitter.com/eq3InIzrUe
— Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame (@theTSHF) July 20, 2025AD
Kelly and Grant were among the most memorable players on both ends of the 1990s, with Kelly leading Tennessee to a 1990 SEC title and Sugar Bowl win over Virginia. Grant earned First Team All-American honors in 1998 while anchoring the back end of Tennessee’s national championship defense before finishing a 12-year NFL career with a Super Bowl victory with the Giants in 2012. Mathews coached a number of tremendous running backs at Tennessee, including Reggie Cobb and Johnnie Jones.
Holdsclaw and Catchings were both national champions with a laundry list of personal awards and accomplishments. Tennessee won the national championship three straight years (1996-98) with Holdsclaw leading the way. Slay won SEC Player of the Year in 2003, the first UT player since 1987 to claim the honor.
Woodruff has helped turn the Tennessee tennis program into a steady force in the SEC, winning the conference in 2021 and making the national semifinals in 2021 and 2022. He just received a contract extension this week through the 2030 season.
Congrats to all on this massive accomplishment.
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