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KNOXVILLE — University of Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer announced Monday afternoon that he will step down at the end of the current season.

The decision was made earlier in the day at a meeting between Fulmer and UT athletic director Mike Hamilton.

"Coach Fulmer has been and will continue to be a great representative of the university and the athletic department," Hamilton said. "He has dedicated the majority of his life to our program."

Reading from a prepared statement, Fulmer recounted how he began his career at Tennessee by playing in a game against Auburn in 1969, when the Volunteers "whipped a higher-ranked team." From that time on, he said, Tennessee football has been a part of his professional life.

Fulmer went on to thank his wife and children as well as the extended Tennessee family that includes coaches, staff members, players and fans for the contributions and sacrifices they have made during his tenure at UT.

The dean of SEC coaches, Fulmer won a national championship and two SEC titles after taking over the program from Johnny Majors. He also guided the team to seven divisional crowns and has won 150 games, but in recent years the program has struggled to maintain the prominence it achieved in the 1990s.

"I'm proud of what we've done at Tennessee," Fulmer said. "We've won a lot of games, we've won championships, we've done it the right way, we've helped a lot of young men grow up and we've been a credit to the university every step of the way."

Fulmer will coach the remaining three games against Wyoming, Kentucky and Vanderbilt, as well as a bowl game should UT earn an invitation. He also has been offered the opportunity to stay on in some capacity at UT but said he is a football coach and might pursue other possibilities once the season is over.

The Volunteer football team attended the press conference en masse and gave their coach a standing ovation. Following the announcement, senior Ramon Foster and sophomore Eric Berry spoke for the team. Both said they were shocked by the decision and felt as though they had lost a family member.

"This is not the way for him to go out," Foster said. "This is unreal."