Doug Dickey Douglas Adair Dickey ( born June 24 , 1932 ) is a former American college football player and coach and college athletics administrator . Dickey is a South Dakota native who was raised in Florida and graduated from the University of Florida , where he played college football . He is best known as the head coach of the University of Tennessee and the University of Florida football teams , and afterward , as the athletic director of the University of Tennessee . Early life and education . Dickey was born in Vermillion , South Dakota in 1932 , and grew up in Gainesville , Florida , where his father was a speech professor at the University of Florida . After graduating from P . K . Yonge High School in Gainesville , he attended the University of Florida and played for coach Bob Woodruff ' s Florida Gators football team from 1951 to 1953 . Dickey was a walk - on after being encouraged by assistant coach Dave Fuller . Dickey began his college career as a defensive back , but he remarkably advanced from seventh on the Gators ' quarterback depth chart to starter after Haywood Sullivan ' s early departure for the Boston Red Sox left the Gators without a starting quarterback in 1952 . As a quarterback Dickey was not a drop - back passer , but a football - savvy game manager , who Woodruff called " one of the brainiest quarterbacks I ever saw . " In January 1953 , Dickey led the Gators to a 14 – 13 win over the University of Tulsa in the Gator Bowl , Florida ' s first - ever NCAA - sanctioned bowl game . While a student at Florida , he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity ( Florida Upsilon chapter ) . He graduated with a bachelor ' s degree in physical education in 1954 . College football coach and athletic director . After graduating from the University of Florida , Dickey served in the U . S . Army . From 1957 to 1963 , he worked as an assistant football coach on the staff of Frank Broyles at the University of Arkansas . Dickey was hired as head coach at the University of Tennessee in 1964 by athletic director Bob Woodruff , Dickey ' s head coach during his playing years at Florida . Many supporters of Tennessee Volunteers football credit Dickey with rejuvenating the program . When Dickey was hired the Volunteers had not won more than six games in a season , nor been to a bowl game , since 1957 . Dickey was recognized as Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) Coach of the Year in 1965 and 1967 , and his Tennessee teams won SEC Championships in 1967 and 1969 . In his six seasons as head coach , his overall win - loss record at Tennessee was 46 – 15 – 4 ( . 738 ) , and the Volunteers received five consecutive bowl invitations . Dickey is credited with starting three Tennessee football traditions that endure today . He placed the iconic " Power T " decal on the sides of the Volunteers ' helmets , had the Neyland Stadium end zones painted in an orange - and - white checkerboard pattern , and originated the Pride of the Southland marching band ' s " T " formation through which Volunteer players enter the field . Dickey was also responsible for integrating the previously all - white Volunteers by recruiting running back Albert Davis , the first African - American offered a scholarship to play for the Vols , but the university did not admit Davis . Undeterred , Dickey recruited wide receiver Lester McClain , who was admitted and became the first black Volunteer football player . In 1969 , the Volunteers clinched their second SEC championship and were invited to play Florida in the Gator Bowl . Rumors swirled that Dickey was planning to return to his alma mater to replace retiring Ray Graves as head coach . Tennessee lost the game 14 – 13 , and Dickey left for Gainesville . Dickey became the head football coach at the University of Florida in 1970 . In his nine seasons as the Florida coach , Dickey led the Gators to four bowl appearances , and an overall record of 58 – 43 – 2 ( . 573 ) . Notably , Dickey gave the Gators ' former Heisman - winning quarterback Steve Spurrier his first coaching job , as the Gators quarterbacks coach , in 1978 . Although Dickey became the third all - time winningest coach at Florida , he did not achieve the same level of success at Florida that he had at Tennessee , and he was replaced by Charley Pell after a 4 – 7 season in 1978 . Dickey ended his college coaching career with an overall record of 104 – 58 – 6 ( . 637 ) . Dickey returned to the University of Tennessee , where he served as athletic director from 1985 through 2002 , leading one of the premier inter - collegiate athletic programs in the nation . His time as athletic director was notable for the improvement and expansion of the university ' s athletic facilities . Neyland Stadium was expanded to more than 100 , 000 seats , and other additions included the Thompson – Boling Assembly Center and Arena , the Lindsey Nelson Baseball Stadium , the Goodfriend Tennis Center , executive suites at Neyland Stadium , the Neyland – Thompson Football Complex , and the Thornton Athletics Student Life Center . Dickey also had the unusual experience of watching his son , Daryl Dickey , become the starting quarterback for the Volunteers in the middle of the 1985 season and leading them to a 35 – 7 win over the Miami Hurricanes in the Sugar Bowl . Honors . Dickey was honored as " Tennessean of the Year " by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2000 . He is also the recipient of the National Football Foundation ' s John Toner Award recognizing his abilities as a sports administrator , and the Robert Neyland Memorial Trophy recognizing his contributions to college football , and is a member of the Gator Bowl Hall of Fame , the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame , and was recognized as a " Distinguished Letter Winner " by the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame . After retiring in 2002 , he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2003 .