[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 299-300]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  CONGRATULATING COACH PHILLIP FULMER AND THE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS ON 
                   WINNING THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. VAN HILLEARY

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 6, 1999

  Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and honor 
Phillip Fulmer, the head football coach of the undefeated, unified 
national champion University of Tennessee Volunteers. Coach Fulmer is a 
native of Winchester, Tennessee, which I am honored to represent in the 
United States Congress.

[[Page 300]]

  In just his first seven years as a head coach, Phillip Fulmer has 
made his mark as one of the best coaches in the nation. He has won a 
national championship faster than many of the game's most legendary 
coaches. His 67-11 career record gives him the best winning percentage 
(.859) in Division I-A college football among active coaches. He has 
led the Volunteers to back-to-back Southeastern Conference 
Championships over the past two seasons, and on January 4 led the Vols 
to the national championship for the first time since 1951.
  Coach Fulmer's success has not gone unnoticed by the media or his 
peers. Earlier this month, Fulmer was awarded the Eddie Robinson 
National Coach of the Year Award, and he was also named the national 
Coach of the Year by the Maxwell Football Club. He was also recently 
named the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Coach of the Year by the 
Associated Press and by his fellow SEC coaches.
  However, Phillip Fulmer is more than a coach to the young men who 
play on his team. He genuinely cares about his players, and he leads 
them on and off the field by setting a good example for how they should 
live their lives. He personally embodies the values his players should 
incorporate into their lives long after their football days are over.
  Mr. Speaker, as a University of Tennessee graduate (Class of 1981) 
and a dedicated Big Orange fan who proudly displays a real piece of the 
old artificial turf where so many great Vols played, I feel qualified 
to convey to you the immeasurable joy which Coach Fulmer, his staff and 
his players have brought to Tennesseans and Tennessee football fans 
around the world. Coach Phillip Fulmer has shown a great deal of class, 
dedication and excellence. For that, I say thank you, congratulations, 
and we will always cherish the memory of this national championship and 
this dream season.

                          ____________________