Football Desegregation and the University of Tennessee and the Transformation of the Southeastern Conference, 1963-67

University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-1994 Seasons of Change: Football Desegregation and the University of Tennessee and the Transformation of the Southeastern Conference, 1963-67 Robert Thomas Epling University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Recommended Citation Epling, Robert Thomas, "Seasons of Change: Football Desegregation and the University of Tennessee and the Transformation of the Southeastern Conference, 1963-67. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1994. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2198 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Robert Thomas Epling entitled "Seasons of Change: Football Desegregation and the University of Tennessee and the Transformation of the Southeastern Conference, 1963-67." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Education. Joan Paul, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: John Finger, Joy DeSensi, Clint Allison Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Robert Thomas Epling entitled "Seasons of Change: Football Desegregation at the University of Tennessee and the Transformation of the Southeastern Conference, 1963-67 ." I have examined the final copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy , with a major in Education . We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance : Accepted for the Council: Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Graduate School Seasons of Change : Football Desegregation at the University of Tennessee and the Transf ormation of the Southeastern Conference, 1963-1967 A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Robert Thomas Epling August 1994 Copyright 1994 by Robert Thomas Epling All rights reserved ii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to Susan Sams Epling, my wonderful wife and friend, and to Glenda Whorton Epling (1943-1981), my late mother. I love each of you so much. Thank you both. iii Acknowledgements I wish to thank Dr. Joan Paul, my major professor, for the guidance, assistance, and friendship she provided during my doctoral studies and dissertation work. I also thank the other committee members, Dr. Clint Allison, Dr. Joy DeSensi, Dr. John Finger, and Dr. Bill Morgan for their contributions to this project. Additionally, Dr. Andy Kozar served as an unofficial committee member, and I appreciate his help and friendship. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Milton Klein and his staff for transcribing the oral history interviews. Finally, I wish to acknowledge and express thanks to several family members for their encouragement: Bill and Judy Epling; Ruth Epling and family; Bobby and Jamie Johnson; Bill and Carol Kisor and family; Melvin and Paulette Sams and family. iv Abstract The University of Tenne ssee football program excluded African-Americans from 1891 to 1967. During most of that span , Vo lunteer athletic teams competed in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) , the last major intercollegiate athletic league to de segregate . Between 1963 and 1967, changes in the university athletic department , in the conference , and in society at large prompted Te nne ssee and several other SEC members to inte grate athletics . The process of racial desegregation ranks as perhaps the le ast chronicled significant event in Un iversity of Te nnessee football history . In addressing that void , this dissertation examines the de se gregation of the University of Te nnessee football program within the context of the 1963 to 1967 time pe r iod . The lack of previous scholarly attention made imperative the use of oral history interviews , and several participants central to the desegregation process contributed . A thorough search and analysis of pe rtinent archiva l materials and contemporary newspaper accounts of the pe riod provided additional perspective , as did a re view of the existing literature on African-American sports history and athletic integration . Albert Davis of Alcoa , Te nnessee , accepted a football scholarship offer from the University of Te nne ssee on April v 14 , 1967 . His signi ng officially ende d more than seventy ye ars of racial exclusion in Volunteer athletics . When an entrance score controversy ke pt Davis from attending the university , actual de segregation on the playing field fe ll to Le ster McClain of Nashville. By earning a varsity football letter in 1968 , McClain be came the first African American to do so in the Southeastern Conference . Football dese gregation procee ded fairly smoothly at Te nnessee , although re sentments expressed by McClain ne ar the end of his college ye ars created a stir . The University of Te nnessee did not lead the Southeastern Conference into football desegregation , but the Tenne ssee case proved vital to a transformation in the conference . Member institutions of the SEC gradually accepted athletic racial integration during the late 1960s and early 1970s, in large part be cause of events at the University of Te nnessee , and that acceptance transformed the Southeastern Conference into a more nationally recogn ized and re spected athletic league . vi Table of Contents Chapter One : The Right Time .. 1 A. Albert Davis: Forgotten Pioneer . 1 B. A Ge neral Framework . • 13 c. Outline . 19 Chapter Two : Southern Traditions .... 22 A. origins of Col lege Football and the Southeastern Conference . 2 2 B. An Overview of African-American Sporting Involvement .... • • 3 0 c. Se lected Racial Episode s Involving SEC Athletic Te ams . 41 Chapter Three : Volunteer Echoes . 50 A. Early Tennessee Football and the Arrival of Robert R. Ne yland . 50 B. Racial Episode s at Tenne ssee Prior to Football De segregation . 58 C. Pre lude to Football De se gregation at Tennessee . 64 Chapter Four : Se asons of Change at Te nne ssee . 71 A. A New Re gime in Te nne ssee Athletics . 71 B. Athletic de segregation comes to the Southeastern Conference . 81 C. Social Change in the 1960s . 94 vii Chapter Five : Aftermath 105 A. Le ster McClain : Not Just Somebody's Roommate ..105 B. A Transformation in the Southeastern Conference . 121 C. Epilogue : A Summary and Re flection .......132 Bibliography . 137 Vita . 157 viii Chapter One The Right Time The University of Te nne ssee football program excluded African-Americans from 1891 to 1967 . During most of that span , Volunteer athletic teams competed in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) , the last major intercollegiate athletic league to de segregate . Be tween 1963 and 1967 , changes in the university athletic de partment , in the conference , and in society at large prompted Te nnessee and several other SEC members to integrate athletics . The process of racial de segregation ranks as pe rhaps the least chronicled significant event in University of Te nne ssee football history . A. Albert Davis : Forgotten Pioneer Every major college in the country sought Albert Davis during his se nior ye ar in high school . Approximate ly one hundred and fifty universities courted him between the autumn of 1966 and spring of 1967 , with more than half offering scholarships . Notre Dame , Illinois, Purdue , Kansas , Miami , and others of a similar reputation contacted Davis. Le sser known schools did the same , including Florida A&M, Texas We stern , and Tenne ssee A&I . Each asked Albert Davis to visit campus , to meet students and faculty , to 1 consider matriculat ing . For an eighteen year old from a small town in east Tennessee, such offers created the opportunity to travel and Albert Davis took advantage . He visited schools from the northwest , the southwest , the midwest , and the east coast . In Decemb er of 1966 alone , he planned and took trips totalling nearly 6000 miles . Some produced more thrills than others . The University of Houston gave Davis a rousing welcome by flashing his name on the scoreboard of the Houston Astrodome . Popular professional football star Gale Sayers escorted Davis around the University of Kansas campus . In Knoxville, University of Tennessee students loudly chanted "We Want Albert , We Want Albert" at halftime of a Volunteer basketball game . ' The adulation conferred upon Albert Davis extended beyond college recruiting efforts . In his hometown of Alcoa , he even presided over an "Albert Davis Day," given him in "regards for the recognition that Alcoa and Blount 'Author interview with Albert Davis , 9 August 1992 , 17 . Also see Ted Riggs , "Albert Davis (Who Else? ) Is No . 1 on Recruiting List," Knoxville News-Sentinel , 13 November 1966, DB ; Ted Riggs , "Ingenuity Helps Recruiters Lure Grid Standouts ," Knoxville News-Sentinel, 4 December

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