Tennessee-Texas is far from a traditional rivalry, but it’s certainly interesting on a couple of different levels. You have the never ending ‘who is the real UT’ question, which will never be agreed upon by the two fanbases. That dilemma is funny too, considering the schools have only ever met three times playing football, each coming more than a half century ago in Cotton Bowls.
And then there’s Rick Barnes — the legendary coach that Texas grew stale with after 17 years leading the men’s basketball
program. Barnes made the NCAA Tournament 16 times during his time in Austin, reaching the Final Four back in 2003. However, Barnes didn’t make it past the first weekend during his final seven seasons. Texas pulled the trigger on change, and Tennessee was there to happily give Barnes a new home when they desperately needed stability.
Barnes may have even found a better fit in Knoxville, making three straight Elite Eight appearances over the last three seasons. With his old school coming to town this weekend, Barnes was clear who he’ll be cheering on.
“Well, I’m pulling for the Tennessee Volunteers,” Rick Barnes said on Tuesday. “I can tell you that. And what I would tell you, someone asked me the other day about it. You know, I spent 17 years in Texas, had wonderful friends there. A bunch of them will come in. I doubt I will see them all.
“Really good friends with (Texas AD) Chris Del Conte. I love the guy. He and I got to be buddies when I was in Texas and he was at TCU. And he has done just an incredible job in Texas. And what Danny White has done here, I look at those two guys as being guys that I think if people would listen to them, we could get some things done because they both see things in a different way.”
No surprise Barnes is pulling for the Volunteers on Saturday. He’s embraced everything about Tennessee from the jump, building the program back from the ground up. He’s survived some bad athletic administrations over the years, and now is reaping the benefits of the department finally being on solid ground.
“Obviously, I like to see us because I love Josh Heupel and the way he’s building here,” Barnes continued. “I think Texas is No. 1. That’s why we play the games, right? But, again, I just have so many fond memories of my time in Texas.
“The last 11 years here have been 11 of the best years of my life. And the people I’ve met wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
