By JIM STEELE
pressbox1.com

At the Southeastern Conference's football media days in Hoover, Ala. last month, it sounded more like the SEC's women's basketball media days.

There was a lot of talk about Lady Vol basketball phenom Candace Parker, who led Tennessee to the women's NCAA national basketball championship. There also was a mention or to of Lady Vols' coach Pat Summitt.

Summitt had won six national titles, including three in a row, the last of which coming in that magical season, 1998...until this past season.

Fulmer, experiencing a bit of a title drought of his own - the Vols haven't won an SEC championship since its own national title run of 1998 - sought out his old pal, Coach Summitt. He wanted to know what she did to lift her team to the pinnacle once again after somewhat of a famine.

"I had a great conversation, Pat Summitt and I are great friends, have been for a long, long time, obviously because we've both been there as a long time as a player and a coach," said Fulmer. "This is my 33rd year at Tennessee. More than half of my life has been spent on our campus. Pat has been there, I wouldn't age her or anything, maybe as long or maybe a little longer. We're great friends. We were talking about her nine year stretch there, as to why she why she thought she hadn't won a championship."

Summitt said two words: Candace Parker.

"She said it's pretty simple, it's Candace Parker. You have to have a Candace Parker type player in your program to be able to do that," Fulmer said. " You need a lot of good players around Candace Parker-type players."

Fulmer believes Erik Ainge can be that kind of player. Ainge, a 6-6, 220-lb. senior, was named second-team pre-season All-SEC during media days. He was 233-348 passing last year wtih 2,989 yards with 19 touchdowns and nine picks.

"I think Erik Ainge can be that kind of football player that our team rallies around, that he takes the bull by the horns and makes the plays that help you win a championship," the Vol skipper said. "Now, the other people around him also have to play good. When you look at our team coming back, I don't believe that you can win championships if you can't run the football and stop the run. We didn't do either one of those very well last year."

Ainge also accepts that challenge. He was dismayed by the fact that the Vols lost three games by close margins and were on the brink of a 12-win season. That doesn't set well with him. Did those close losses leave him with an uneasy feeling?

"A little bit," he said. "We won nine games last season and we were a couple plays and three games away from winning 12 games. I know that a lot of teams say that and it sounds a bit cliché to say that you were a couple plays away from winning a game here and there but we really believe it."

The Vols have some questions to answer, especially at receiver, but Fulmer believes the team is about where it needs to be going into pre-season camp and the season opener at nationally-ranked California.

But the coach wants another championship (SEC media members believe the Vols will finish second in the East this year) and makes no bones about it. It's been a while, he's had a few setbacks, namely the 2001 SEC championship debacle in Atlanta and the 5-6 nightmare of 2005. Sure, the fans and players want a title, but Fulmer maintains it's a high priority for him, too.

"Nobody, you or the fans, nobody wants to win a championship more than I do; nobody," said Fulmer, emphatically. "We're going to work like heck to make that happen."

It won't be easy because the Vols have a tough road schedule. They play at California, Florida and Alabama. There is a buzz about Kentucky and South Carolina as well, both road games this season.