PHILLIP FULMER

The Tennessee Volunteers are proving just how quickly a traditional powerhouse can rebound despite seeming lost for well over a decade.

FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2019, file photo, Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt yells at the officials during an NCAA college football game against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Tennessee fired Pruitt Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. “While the investigation is continuing the information provided to us indicates serious violations of NCAA rules," Plowman said. Fulmer, 70, will be retiring, and Tennessee is retaining Parker Executive Search to help hire a new athletic director. Pruitt ends a tenure that started after a tumultuous coaching search highlighted by Tennessee replacing John Currie as athletic director with Fulmer. Before kickoff, a Knoxville radio station reported Tennessee and the NCAA were looking into recruiting issues.

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The San Francisco 49ers will play their season opener without fans in attendance because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team said it would work with state and county officials to determine whether it will be safe to allow fans to attend games later this season. ___Tennessee will be selling tickets for approximately 25% of the seats at Neyland Stadium for this season. Current students and active donors to the Tennessee Fund with season tickets get top priority for tickets and season tickets will be offered based on annual amount given and the order to the Tennessee Fund. The original prices for season tickets will not change with Tennessee set to host five Southeastern Conference opponents for the first time since 1959.

FILE - In this April 14, 2018, file photo, Blue team coach Johnny Majors, a former Pittsburgh NCAA college football coach, is shown before the annual Blue Gold game in Pittsburgh. Majors, the coach of Pittsburghs 1976 national championship team and a former coach and star player at Tennessee, has died. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)KNOXVILLE, Tenn. College Football Hall of Famer Johnny Majors, the coach of Pittsburghs 1976 national championship team and a former coach and star player at Tennessee, died Wednesday. Majors went 33-13-1 in four years there and led Pittsburgh to a 12-0 record and national title in 1976. His father, Shirley Majors, was a longtime football coach at the University of the South in Sewanee.

There are 130 major college football teams, spread across 41 states and competing in 10 conferences, save for a handful of independents. The Friday announcements are the latest signs that a college football season will be launched in some form this fall. The NCAA updated that ruling Friday by saying voluntary activities would be allowed in all sports starting June 1. Greg Abbott said Friday he thinks college football will return on schedule with at least some spectators. Once we get to college football season, our goal right now is to have college football season start as planned, with fans in stands, Abbott said in an interview with Austin television station KXAN.