Isaac Fowler (JEM ‘18), Tim Morris (JEM ‘18), and Patricia Forrester (Sport Management ‘17) have been nominated for a Midsouth Regional Emmy in the historical documentary category for Triple A, Bar None, a VFL Films production about legendary University of Tennessee swimming and diving coach Ray Bussard.
Bussard coached the Vols from 1968-88 and led the men’s program to its only NCAA team championship in 1978. Triple A, Bar None was created in part to celebrate the 40th anniversary reunion of the national championship team.
During the 1970s, the Vols developed a tradition of world-class swimming and diving and has produced 20 Olympians over the decades. Bussard was also responsible for establishing several eye-catching team traditions that continue to this day, including wearing coonskin caps on the sidelines at major championships and ceremonially pouring a bottle of water from their home pool into the opponent’s pool before every road meet.
“The history of the swimming and diving team, the traditions that carry on today, where it all started from, Coach Bussard’s story really tells that,” said Forrester, who swam for the women’s team from 2014-17. “It was cool being a part of it as a former swimmer.”
Triple A, Bar None marks the second regional Emmy nomination for Fowler and Morris, who directed Welcome Home Brother for Land Grant Films in 2017.
“It’s exciting to be back a second year in a row,” Fowler said. “We learned about this story two years and three months ago, August of 2017. We first started brainstorming in 2017. Over two years later, we’re getting to reap the benefits. It’s an honor being recognized by the television academy.”
Fowler, a social media editor/producer for VFL Films, and Morris, a video specialist for Sevier Heights Baptist Church, are working on a short documentary for Land Grant Films about the importance of stickball on the Cherokee reservation in western North Carolina with Natalie Welch, a recent UT sport management doctoral graduate who grew up on the Cherokee reservation.
Forrester is an Olympic sports video producer for VFL Films, the Tennessee athletic department’s video production and live broadcast team.
The 34th annual Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards will be held Feb. 15, 2020, at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, Tenness