Staff Photo by Dan Henry -- UT's head coach Phillip Fulmer walks off the field after losing to South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C., 27-6 on Saturday.

Sideshow: Last Year for Coach Fulmer

KNOXVILLE — Phillip Fulmer will step down from his position as the University of Tennessee’s football coach at a 5 p.m. press conference today, multiple sources told The Times Free Press this morning.

The longest-tenured Southeastern Conference coach will receive an approximately $6 million settlement from his alma mater, payable over 48 monthly payments, according to the seven-year contract extension he signed before this season.

Multiple sources told The Times Free Press that a 5 p.m. press conference has been set in Neyland Stadium to formally announce the news. It is believed that Fulmer and his staff will finish this season, but that has not been confirmed.

The Volunteers (3-6, 1-5 Southeastern Conference) lost 27-6 at South Carolina on Saturday night. They must win their final three games — starting Saturday against Wyoming — to reach bowl-eligibility status.

Fulmer, who led the Volunteers as an interim basis for part of 1992 and took the full-time position in 1993, has a 150-51 career record. Florida State’s Bobby Bowden (.757), and Penn State’s Joe Paterno (.751) are the only two major NCAA Division I program coaches with 10-plus years of experience and a higher winning percentage than Fulmer (.746).

UT has lost 31 games since 2002, though, and the Vols must win out to avoid their second losing season in four years.

The 1977 Vols are the only team in program history to lose seven games in one season. UT started playing organized football in 1891.

For more on this story check back to www.timesfreepress.com and read Tuesday’s Times Free Press.