In 2022, each of Tennessee's four major sports saw success. Across football, baseball and men's and women's basketball, the group won two SEC Tournaments — and two teams reached No. 1 in their respective rankings.

Now, with the final days of the year winding down, let's take a look at the best moments each of the teams produced.

Throughout recent history, Tennessee football hasn't lived up to the standard that has previously been set. This failure has been highlighted by 15 straight losses to long-time rival, Alabama.

However, in Josh Heupel's second season on Rocky Top, he slayed the Tide en route to earning the No. 1 ranking in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. The win came as the first since 2006 with most games in the 15-year span being uncompetitive.

During 2022's battle, the Vols jumped out to an early lead. Alabama clawed back to take a late advantage but it was quickly made even at 49 in the waning minutes of the game. The Tide marched down the field with a chance to win but missed a 50-yard field goal.

This gave Hendon Hooker and Tennessee 15 seconds to move into field goal range. Hooker found Ramel Keyton, then Bru McCoy to set up Chase McGrath's 40-yard game-winner that squeaked just inches above the goal post.

What ensued was the 100,000+ fans packed into Neyland Stadium storming the field and beginning a celebration that would last until sunrise. The field stormers promptly ripped down the goalposts to the tune of Dixieland Delight and tossed them into the river — a tradition dating back multiple decades. Cigar smoke filled the stadium as the city of Knoxville rejoiced in the long-awaited victory.

It is impossible to mention the historic win without noting Jalin Hyatt's incredible performance. The future Biletnikoff winner caught six passes for 207 yards and five touchdowns.

This night will not soon be forgotten among Vol fans as it will possibly mark Tennessee's return to relevance in the college football world. Ultimately, the team finished 10-2 in the regular season and earned a bid in the Orange Bowl vs. Clemson.

In 2022, the most successful team on campus was Tony Vitello's baseball squad. The team quickly summited to No. 1 in the polls as they held onto the position throughout the entirety of the regular season. They would ultimately enter the NCAA Tournament as the nation's top-seeded team. This meant that the Vols easily walked away with the SEC regular season title.

However, winning the SEC Tournament would be a challenge of its own. The opening two rounds featured two teams looking for revenge against Tennessee. First, Vanderbilt looked for payback after being swept at home in the regular season. Then, it was LSU hoping to avenge five losses from the previous season - including the Super Regional. Ultimately, the Vols cruised to 10-1 and 5-2 victories, respectively.

Following this, it was Tennessee's turn to look for revenge. In the historic regular season, the Vols' only series loss was to Kentucky. In the semifinals, the teams paired off for a fourth installment of the season. Tennessee easily dominated with a 12-2 win to reach the championship and even up the season series at 2-2 against the Wildcats.

Finally, in the title bout, the Vols squared off with Florida. Tennessee jumped out to an early 7-0 lead against the Gators but they would not go away. Florida clawed back late in the game but would fall 8-5.

This SEC title marked the fourth-ever conference tournament for the school. It was the first since 1995, as well. Tennessee would eventually fall to Notre Dame in the Super Regionals but claiming the SEC Championship was still a big accomplishment of its own.

Under Rick Barnes, Tennessee has reached remarkable heights in the college basketball landscape. The Vols have won an SEC regular season title and reached No. 1 in the AP Poll. However, an aspect that has long eluded Tennessee was post-season success. The school has only advanced to a single Elite Eight in its history and hadn't won an SEC Tournament since 1979.

One portion of that was changed in 2022, though. After going 14-4 in SEC play, the Vols earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Behind the star power of Kennedy Chandler, Zakai Zeigler, Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James, Tennessee downed Kentucky for the second time in the year in the semifinals to advance to the championship game.

With it all coming down to a battle vs. a streaking Texas A&M team, the Vols came through with a 65-50 win. Vescovi, James and Chandler combined for 47 points as the Aggies quickly fell into a 14-0 hole they could never recover from.

The win came as the first conference title in over 40 years. Ultimately, Tennessee would get downed in the Round of 32 by Michigan. Despite the NCAA Tournament not going as well as many hoped, the conference championship still marked a big step in the program's growth toward becoming national contenders.

Perhaps Tennessee's most iconic and historically successful team is its women's basketball program. Pat Summitt turned the Lady Vols into a national powerhouse while winning eight championships and reaching 18 Final Fours.

However, following Summitt's tragic passing, the program began to fall from the standard it was once at. This led to a period of time where Tennessee failed to claw out from the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

However, despite an absence from the third round since 2016, Kellie Harper led Tennessee past Belmont for the school's 35th appearance in the Sweet 16.

This didn't come without dramatics, though. With 20 seconds left, the Lady Vols trailed the Bruins by two points. It took a clutch 3-pointer by Sara Puckett to reclaim this advantage and eventually walk away with a 70-67 win.

Tennessee would end up falling to a Final Four-bound Louisville team in the Sweet 16. However, ending a streak of disappointment and reaching the round was a valuable step towards reclaiming the throne of women's collegiate basketball.

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