In the pantheon of college basketball’s results across the country on Saturday, Tennessee’s 73-63 win over LSU might not turn too many heads. While Tennessee is on the cusp of being ranked and is certainly relevant in the national picture, LSU is limping along at now 2-10 in SEC play, good for last in the conference.

However, something big happened on Saturday night at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. With the win, Tennessee’s Rick Barnes reached a mark that very, very few in the history of the sport have accomplished.

Barnes became just the ninth coach in Division I college basketball history to win 250 games with two different programs.

Rick Barnes becomes the ninth coach in college basketball history to win 250 games with two programs

After the game, Barnes talked about why he came to Tennessee, and it wasn’t to ride off into the sunset.

“I thank God for the opportunity, I really do. I when I got here, people told me everybody thought I was coming here to retire, which, I want to coach basketball. I love coaching. I’ve got a great staff. I love what we have going here. We can get so much better.

“What I didn’t know, growing up three hours from here, is the love for Tennessee basketball. I’d have people tell me through the years, and had a friend that’s been a friend for eleven years, Kevin Feltner, who was coaching an AAU team here at one time. He was one of the first guys I met, and he came in and welcomed me to East Tennessee, and he said ‘I’m going to tell you what you’re going to be most surprised about is how loyal and how rabid your fanbase is.’ He said they love basketball here, and that’s true, you know? And I think we’ve got as loyal a basketball fanbase — obviously we know Vol Nation is special — but basketball-wise, it’s been unbelievable.

“I’m blessed. I really believe God brought me here for a reason. I’m thankful for it. I’m thankful for the players that we coach. It was great seeing Robert Hubbs tonight. He was here for the first win we ever had, and we were back there talking where we had started, eleven years ago, and it’s really hard to believe it’s been eleven years. And I’m just thankful to God for the opportunity and the blessing.”

Barnes started off his career with George Mason in the 1987-88 season, where he went 20-10. He spent the next six years at Providence, where he took the Friars to the NCAA Tournament three times. He then went to Clemson, where he coached for four seasons with three trips to the big dance.

His next stop was at Texas, where he made the biggest name for himself. He posted a 402-180 record over 17 seasons, 16 tournament appearances, 3 Big 12 regular season titles, and a Final Four trip in 2003.

At Tennessee, he’s helped the program reach new heights that the program hadn’t reached in a long time. The program won its first SEC Tournament title in the modern format and first since 1979 in March 2022. The program has been to the Elite Eight each of the last two seasons.

It’s been a terrific career for Barnes, and Tennessee fans can only hope that it ends with a Final Four trip to accent a terrific run in Knoxville.

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