One week after a humiliating 30-3 Peach Bowl loss to Maryland ended his team's 2002 season with an 8-5 record, Fulmer was tabbed president of the American Football Coaches Association. He was first vice-president last year, so the promotion hardly qualifies as a surprise.
''I'm obviously very excited about the opportunity,'' Fulmer said in a statement released by the AFCA. ''It's a great honor. I'm particularly proud to be a part of the efforts we've made under (executive director) Grant Teaff. A lot of work has been done, and I'm looking forward to continuing it.''
Fulmer is the second UT coach to serve as AFCA president. Johnny Majors held the same position in 1990.
Fulmer, who began the 2002 season as the winningest active coach in NCAA Div. 1 football on a percentage basis, now stands 103-25 for an .805 winning percentage.
Fulmer's first vice-president will be Ken Hatfield of Rice. Second vice-president will be Paul Pasqualoni of Syracuse and third vice-president will be Scot Dapp of Moravian College.
Notable members of the AFCA Board for 2003 include Tyrone Willingham of Notre Dame, Lloyd Carr of Michigan and Ken Sparks of Carson-Newman College. Carson-Newman is located in Jefferson City, just 30 miles from the University of Tennessee campus.