Phillip Edward Fulmer Sr. (born September 1, 1950) is a former American football player, coach, and athletic director at the University of Tennessee.

He is best known for coaching the Volunteers in the first BCS National Championship Game in 1998, defeating the Florida State Seminoles.

Despite a decline in the later years of his career, he is considered to be an icon of Tennessee football, noted for his loyalty to the institution.

[4] Fulmer served as a special assistant to the athletic director at East Tennessee State University.

[8] Fulmer served as linebacker coach and defensive coordinator for the Vols freshman team in 1973 before moving to Wichita State University the following season.

[10] He followed those years with a one-season stint at Vanderbilt, serving as an assistant to Commodores head coach George MacIntyre.

Linemen coached by Fulmer during this period include Bill Mayo, Raleigh McKenzie, Bruce Wilkerson, Harry Galbreath, Charles McRae, Antone Davis, and Tom Myslinski.

[26][27][28] Among growing dissent among the fanbase, Majors resigned due to his contract being bought out and Fulmer became the 20th head football coach in Tennessee history at the end of the season.

Fulmer led the team to victories in the next four games against South Carolina, #13 Louisville, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt to finish the regular season with a 9–1–1 record.

In the Citrus Bowl against #13 Penn State, the Volunteers fell 31–13 to finish Heath Shuler's final season with a 9–2–1 record and #12 in the AP Poll.

The Vols' struggles continued in the next game, a 24–21 loss to Mississippi State to fall to 1–3 and unranked for the first time with Fulmer at the helm.

However, despite the loss, Fulmer had a young Peyton Manning as his quarterback due to injuries of previous starters Jerry Colquitt and Todd Helton.

[73] Despite the disappointing ending, Fulmer had brought the Volunteers to and sustained national prominence and greater things were on the horizon.

[76] Two weeks later, after years of defeat, the Vols finally overcame the #2 Florida Gators in a 20–17 overtime victory.

[83] The Vols made the BCS National Championship game and faced off against the #2 Florida State Seminoles in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl.

[85][86][87][88] Fulmer's senior class of the 1998 team compiled a record of 45–5, losing only to Florida (three times), Nebraska, and Memphis.

[95][96] Fulmer was honored with the State Farm Eddie Robinson Coach of Distinction Award in December 1999.

[98] After the game, the City of Knoxville proclaimed September 9, 2000, as "Phillip Fulmer Day" in honor of the coach.

[111] The Vols followed the loss with a six-game winning streak to move to #5 in the nation and faced off with the #2 Florida Gators on December 1.

[112] The Vols controlled their own destiny in the National Championship race,[113] but fell 31–20 to the Nick Saban-led Tigers.

After two wins against Wyoming and Middle Tennessee State, the Vols dropped a game to the Florida Gators by a score of 30–13.

[146] In the 2005 Cotton Bowl against #22 Texas A&M, Fulmer led the Vols to a 38–7 victory to finish 10–3 and 13th in the final AP Poll.

[157] The team started with two straight wins over #9 California and Air Force before dropping a game to #7 Florida Gators by score of 21–20.

[161][162] The Vols won their last two regular season games to finish 9–3 and face Penn State in the 2007 Outback Bowl.

[172] Tennessee went on a five-game winning streak to close out the season, which included a 27–24 victory over #15 South Carolina.

[190][191] Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton finally notified Fulmer of his dismissal on November 2, 2008.

[194][195] Lane Kiffin was hired by Mike Hamilton to succeed Fulmer as the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers.

[210] Fulmer served as a consultant and special assistant to athletic director Richard Sander at East Tennessee State University, which relaunched a football program it had shut down for financial reasons in 2003.

[222] In December 2019, Fulmer was named to ESPN's list of their top 150 college football coaches to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.

[224] [225] *Fulmer served as interim coach for the first three games of the 1992 season while Johnny Majors recovered from heart surgery.