The Volunteers were led by second-year head coach Rick Barnes.

[1] The team played its home games at Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, as a member of the Southeastern Conference.

The Vols posted a record of 15–19, 6–12 in SEC play, during the 2015–16 season and finished in 12th place.

[9] Additionally they played these games: at East Tennessee State, host Georgia Tech, and at North Carolina.

[10] Tennessee hosted Kansas State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.