The Vols last postponed football in 1943 in an attempt to salvage the season.
The world was at war the last time the Tennessee Volunteers postponed their football season.
Before giving up, schools did everything they could to salvage the 1943 season.
When the University of Tennessee last postponed its football season, people were in danger all across the world. However, in 1943, the multimillion-dollar collegiate football business did not quickly abandon game play.
Under head coach Robert Neyland, Tennessee developed into a football powerhouse in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Back when bowl games were much more infrequent, the Vols.
1942 saw the commencement of the collegiate football season without incident, despite the assault on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Tennessee defeated Tulsa in the Sugar Bowl to cap off the season.
The U.S. Army shocked college football a month after the bowl victory when it declared it would take over the classrooms and athletic facilities at 271 campuses.
Massive college football teams called the schools home, and whole teams of men in their college years were dispatched to fight abroad.
Football coaches and conferences refused to give up the season easily, even with completely decimated rosters. Leaders of the Southeastern Conference did everything they could, including letting freshmen who were not nearly of fighting age—eighteen years old—play varsity sports. Freshmen were not permitted to play at that period.
