Greg Sankey Should Kick the Tennessee Volunteers Out of the SEC

In the heart of America’s most powerful college football conference, a storm has been brewing—and it’s wearing orange. The Tennessee Volunteers, once a proud pillar of Southeastern Conference tradition, have turned into the SEC’s most controversial, chaotic, and divisive program. With a growing list of transgressions, feuds, and conduct unbecoming of a flagship member, it’s time for SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey to consider the unthinkable: kicking Tennessee out of the SEC.

This isn’t about on-field rivalries or sour grapes. It’s about standards. It’s about respect. It’s about the credibility of the Southeastern Conference. And increasingly, Tennessee seems hellbent on destroying all three.

A Program Emboldened by Arrogance

Once a fading giant, Tennessee has returned to national relevance across multiple sports—football, basketball, baseball, and even women’s sports like softball and gymnastics. But with that success has come a tidal wave of controversy. Their teams don’t just win—they antagonize. Their coaches don’t just compete—they provoke. And their fans? Vol Nation has become one of the most toxic and divisive forces in college athletics.

Tennessee’s baseball team, under Tony Vitello, has become synonymous with brash behavior: bat flips, taunts, postgame insults, and bench-clearing altercations. Their football program, under Josh Heupel, has refused to accept accountability for infractions and NIL accusations, and has taken open shots at SEC rivals in the media. Women’s basketball? Fiery social media feuds. Softball? Trash talk that spills into dugouts and Twitter threads alike.

This isn’t just swagger. It’s systemic.

The SEC Standard—and How Tennessee Keeps Violating It

Greg Sankey has worked tirelessly to elevate the SEC to more than just a football conference. Under his leadership, the SEC has become the gold standard of collegiate sports: dominant, disciplined, and respected.

Sankey’s vision relies on more than wins. It’s about how teams represent the conference on the national stage—how they treat opponents, fans, and even officials. In that regard, Tennessee has become an outright liability.

Let’s break down the infractions, both literal and figurative:

1. Baseball’s Culture of Chaos

No program has become more symbolic of Tennessee’s disciplinary breakdown than its baseball team. Under Vitello, the Vols have transformed into college baseball’s ultimate villain. That might sound like a compliment—until you look at the cost.

Ejections and Suspensions: Tennessee has led the SEC in ejections in back-to-back seasons. Coaches and players have been tossed for arguing, taunting, and physical altercations.
Disrespecting Opponents: From flipping off outfielders to mocking teams during postgame handshakes, Tennessee’s antics have drawn national criticism.
Recruiting Bluster: Opposing coaches have quietly complained about Tennessee’s behavior on the trail, alleging negative recruiting and unethical NIL inducements.

What was once fiery competitiveness has morphed into unchecked ego.

2. Football’s NIL Shenanigans and Scheduling Power Plays

In football, Tennessee’s issues are twofold: arrogance and audacity.

NIL Gamesmanship: Multiple SEC insiders believe Tennessee has pushed the limits of NIL legality, especially in high-profile recruiting wins over Alabama, Georgia, and Texas A&M. The NCAA has already sniffed around the program, and rumors persist about backroom deals facilitated by collectives with little oversight.
Scheduling Complaints: After years of irrelevance, Tennessee now uses its resurgence to lobby for schedule changes and preferential treatment, including attempts to avoid permanent rivalries that could impact playoff hopes. The Vols want to eat at the adults’ table without paying dues.

It’s a pattern: success breeds entitlement. But entitlement without accountability is a cancer.

A Fanbase Feeding the Fire

It’s one thing for a program to stir the pot; it’s another for a fanbase to fuel it like Tennessee’s has.

Vol Nation, once one of the most passionate and loyal fanbases in the country, has devolved into a digital mob. Coaches who beat Tennessee receive death threats. Opposing players who taunt the Vols face online harassment. And even neutral commentators critical of the program are doxxed, spammed, and attacked by online trolls flying orange avatars.

The 2021 Ole Miss game is perhaps the clearest example: enraged by a controversial call, Tennessee fans threw trash onto the field, injuring security personnel and stopping play for 20 minutes. Greg Sankey issued a public reprimand—but no meaningful punishment followed.

That moment marked a turning point. It told Tennessee that they could act with impunity. And ever since, they’ve doubled down.

The SEC Can’t Be a Free-For-All

The Southeastern Conference isn’t just about revenue and championships. It’s about values. Discipline. Humility. Respect. Those are the traits Sankey often references when discussing what makes the SEC different from the Big Ten, Big 12, or ACC.

Tennessee is actively undermining that image.

When LSU wins, they act like champions.
When Georgia wins, they carry themselves with professionalism.
When Alabama loses, they don’t storm the field and burn social media down in rage.

Tennessee? They gloat in victory, whine in defeat, and blame everyone but themselves. It’s toxic. And it’s spreading.

What Would Expulsion Even Look Like?

Let’s be clear: removing a program from the SEC would be unprecedented. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

Per conference bylaws, the SEC has the authority to censure, fine, suspend, or remove a member institution for repeated violations of rules or conduct detrimental to the league. It’s rarely discussed because it’s never come close to being necessary—until now.

What would it mean?

Tennessee would likely join the ACC or Big 12, becoming the biggest fish in a smaller pond—but at a massive revenue loss.
The SEC would issue a statement citing violations of behavioral and competitive standards, backed by past incidents and internal warnings.
A clear message would be sent to other schools: This is not the Wild West. There are standards—and consequences.

Even if Tennessee isn’t expelled, a probationary period or massive fine could be levied to rein in the chaos.

The Counterpoint: Is Tennessee Good for the SEC?

Some would argue that Tennessee’s rise is good for the SEC—that their success draws ratings, that controversy equals engagement, and that rivalries are fueled by hate as much as history.

There’s some truth to that. Tennessee-Alabama means more when both are elite. Tennessee-LSU baseball is a warzone for the ages. And Tennessee-Florida football is fun again.

But there’s a line. Passion doesn’t excuse poison. And Tennessee’s behavior has too often crossed that line.

If a school can’t win with class, lose with grace, or treat its rivals with respect, then it doesn’t deserve to sit at the table with programs that do. The SEC is the best conference in America because of its standards—not in spite of them.

Greg Sankey’s Legacy Moment

Commissioner Sankey has earned widespread respect as a measured, diplomatic leader. But sometimes diplomacy must give way to discipline. The SEC’s long-term health is more important than one school’s short-term success.

If Tennessee continues down its current path—with its arrogant leadership, unruly fans, and antagonistic behavior—then Sankey must consider the unthinkable. Not because he wants to. Because he has to.

Because if the SEC stands for something, it cannot stand with Tennessee.

Tennessee has brought winning back to Rocky Top. But they’ve also brought disgrace, disorder, and division.

The question isn’t whether they’re good at sports. They are.

The question is: Do they belong in the SEC anymore?

And if the answer is “yes,” then the SEC needs to ask itself what kind of conference it wants to be. Because right now, the Tennessee Volunteers are testing the boundaries—and burning the bridges—of what this league is supposed to stand for.

It’s time for Greg Sankey to act. Before one bad apple spoils the whole bunch.