The Vols play atNeyland Stadium on the university campus inKnoxville, where they have won 485 games, the highest home-field total in college football history for any school at its current home venue. Additionally, its 101,915-seat capacity makes Neyland the nation'ssixth largest and third largest in the Southeastern Conference.
Tennessee football began in1891 and developed unevenly through its early decades, enduring periods without official teams, wartime interruptions, and frequent coaching turnover. The program gained prominence in the early 20th century under coaches such asZora Clevenger, whose1914 team won an undefeatedSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship, and especiallyRobert Neyland, who took over in 1926. Neyland established Tennessee as a national power, compiling dominant records, long unbeaten and shutout streaks, and multiple conference titles. The 1939 team is still the only team in history to finish the entire regular season without giving up a single point. The1951 team featuredHank Lauricella, that season'sHeisman Trophy runner up, andDoug Atkins, a future member of thePro Football Hall of Fame. The Vols romped to a 10–0 regular season record and captured theAP Poll national championship. During this era,Shields–Watkins Field evolved intoNeyland Stadium, which became a defining symbol of the program and one of college football’s largest and most recognizable venues.
Following Neyland's retirement and death, Tennessee experienced fluctuating success through the 1950s and early 1960s, highlighted by an SEC championship underBowden Wyatt in 1956, this season ended in controversy over the highly contested 1956 Heisman Trophy race between Tennessee's Johnny Majors, Notre Dame's Paul Hornung, and Syracuse's Jim Brown. Hornung won the Heisman controversially despite playing for a 2-8 Notre Dame. The program modernized underDoug Dickey (1964–69), who introduced theT-formation offense, the "Power T" logo, the checkerboard end zones, and the "running through the T" tradition, while winning two SEC titles. After mixed results underBill Battle,Johnny Majors restored national relevance in the 1980s with SEC championships in 1985, 1989, and 1990, including theSugar Bowl victory over Miami that earned the1985 team the nickname "Sugar Vols." Tennessee reached another peak underPhillip Fulmer, winning multiple SEC championships and capturing the1998 national championship. Led by quarterbackTee Martin, All American linebackerAl Wilson, and wide receiverPeerless Price, the Vols finished the season 13–0 including a victory in the inauguralBCS National Championship Game againstFlorida State, 23–16.
After Fulmer's departure in 2008, Tennessee entered a prolonged period of instability marked by frequent coaching changes and inconsistent performance. Following the turbulent 2017 season and a widely scrutinized coaching search, Alabama defensive coordinatorJeremy Pruitt was hired in December 2017, with former head coach Phillip Fulmer returning as athletic director. Pruitt's tenure (2018–2020) produced mixed results and ended amid NCAA investigations. In January 2021, Tennessee hiredJosh Heupel, formerly the head coach at UCF, signaling a strategic shift toward a fast-paced, offense-driven identity. Heupel’s arrival marked a renewed effort to restore Tennessee’s competitiveness and national standing within the Southeastern Conference.
The Vols' main rivalries include theAlabama Crimson Tide (Third Saturday in October) andVanderbilt Commodores. Tennessee's longest and most played rivalry is with theKentucky Wildcats. Since the formation of the SEC Eastern Division in 1992, the Vols have had emerging rivalries with theFlorida Gators,Georgia Bulldogs, and the South Carolina Gamecocks. None of their games have trophies, although Kentucky–Tennessee used to battle over a trophy called the Beer Barrel from 1925 until 1999. The Volunteers used to have important rivalries with theGeorgia Tech Yellow Jackets,Auburn Tigers, andOle Miss Rebels until Georgia Tech left the SEC and realignment forced them to drop Auburn and Ole Miss from the schedule annually.Starting in the 2026-2027 NCAA Football Season, The Vols' three annual opponents are the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Kentucky Wildcats, and the Vanderbilt Commodores. Because of this scheduling change, the Vols will no longer annually play the Florida Gators (an annual opponent since 1990) or the Georgia Bulldogs (an annual opponent since 1992).
Tennessee has been selected asnational championships six times from NCAA-designated major selectors, including twice (2) from major wire-services:AP Poll andCoaches Poll.[5]: 112–115 Tennessee claims all six national championships.[6][7]
TheAssociated Press (AP) has selected Tennessee as national champions twice, in1951 and1998. The No. 1 Vols lost in the Sugar Bowl following the 1951 season after being named AP and UPI national champions due to the polls being conducted before the bowl season prior to 1965 and 1974 respectively. The 1938 and 1950 championships, while not AP titles, were recognized by a majority and a plurality of overall selectors/polls, respectively.[8][9]
Tennessee has also been awarded national championships by various notable organizations in six additional years of 1914, 1931, 1939, 1956, 1985, and 1989, though the school claims none.[10]
As winners of the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division, Tennessee has made five appearances in theSEC Championship Game, with the most recent coming in 2007. The Vols are 2–3 in those games.
Tennessee has had 24 head coaches since it began play during the1891 season.Robert Neyland is the leader in seasons coached and games won, with 173 victories in 21 seasons (spread out over three stints).John Barnhill has the highest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with .846.James DePree has the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with .306. Of the 23 different head coaches who have led the Volunteers, Neyland, Wyatt, Dickey, Majors, and Fulmer have been inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame inAtlanta.
This is a list of Tennessee's ten most recentbowl games. Tennessee holds an all-time bowl game record of 30–25 through the 2023 season, due to the removal of the vacated win from 2019.[12]
Tennessee's all-time appearances and victories of 56 & 31 (on-field results) rank fifth and fourth, respectively. With the removal of the vacated 2019 victory, they stand at 55 appearance and 30 victories, which rank as sixth and seventh.
Now and for most of their history, the Volunteers have worn orange jerseys with white numbers at home and white jerseys with orange numbers on the road. The standard helmets have been white with an orange stripe down the center for decades (with a short-lived two-striped variation in 1973), and the "Power T" logo on either side. Uniform pants have changed over time, with the standard being white with two orange stripes down the side. Orange pants with white stripes were introduced in 1977 are still occasionally worn as an alternate, both at home and on the road.
The Volunteers originally wore black uniforms from 1911 to 1920, later replaced with orange jerseys with black wool numbers were first worn on September 23, 1922, in a 50–0 win againstEmory & Henry.[13] In 1935, the jerseys were white with orange stripes on the sleeves, but this changed in 1936 to orange jerseys and white numbers, which were on the front for the first time.[13] This combination has since become the standard for the team, with limited variation. Black numbers and stripes returned in 1963 before going away again in 1964.[14] The 1971 season saw the introduction of player names on jerseys, as well as orange shoulders on road jerseys, which would last until 1974.[14] Later alternates have taken inspiration from this look, including games in 2004, 2014, and 2023.[14][15] The numbers on white jerseys were outlined in black until the 2013 season, and the outlines have not returned for on-field play since.[16]
The pants for the team have gone through several iterations, but have mostly maintained a white or orange base color with stripes.[14] Orange debuted as the base color in 1977 under Johnny Majors and appeared occasionally until his retirement, and have been used sporadically since.[14] Stripes have usually been a part of the pants, but were absent from 1995 to 2002.[14]
In 1995,Adidas signed on to be the official uniform supplier of Tennessee football, an agreement that would last until 2015, when Nike took over as official supplier. The switch to Nike included several small touches, including a checkerboard pattern on the back of the helmet stripe, a switch to a single stripe on the pants, and most notably a new bespoke number font that incorporated angles from the state of Tennessee's borders. The helmet and pants striping changes have since been undone, but the number font remains. In 2025, Adidas signed a 10-year deal with the university, and will return as the official supplier on July 1, 2026.[17]
Alternate uniforms
Tennessee Volunteer jerseys in 2007
In 2009, the Volunteers wore black jerseys with orange pants on Halloween night against theSouth Carolina Gamecocks.[18] Black "Dark Mode" uniforms returned in 2021, making their return as a regularly featured uniform in Tennessee's first conference game of the season versus South Carolina, with white helmets featuring black trim. Black helmets were originally planned but were unavailable due to supply shortages from theCOVID-19 pandemic.[19] Fully black helmets would debut in 2022 in the late October night game versus Kentucky.[20] "Dark Mode" uniforms have since become an annual staple of the Tennessee uniform schedule, typically being worn in a night time home game around Halloween.
On October 5, 2013, the team debuted its "Smokey Grey" uniforms in an overtime loss to theGeorgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium, featuring grey jerseys, grey pants with orange stripes outlined in white, with the traditional orange and white helmets.[21] The same grey uniform set was worn again one more time in 2013 versus Vanderbilt before the switch toNike.
The Nike Smokey Grey uniform, worn from 2015 to 2017 (plus a one-off in 2022), featured a two-toned gray uniform with darker shoulders, a helmet featuring a monochromatic mountain design with a solid orange strip that leads to a checkerboard pattern at the back, and a single orange stripe on the pants that matches the helmet stripe.[22]
In 2023, the Smokey Greys were brought back on a three-year plan to introduce a variation each year called “The Volunteer Spirit”. 2023's "Artful Dodger" uniforms featured an orange collar and shoulder design in homage to the Condredge Holloway-led 1970s road uniforms and the return to double-striped pants. The helmet had the same mountain design, however the stripe was a thin and orange with a light grey facemask. They wore this look in a poor performance game against Austin Peay that finished 30–13.
2024's Volunteer Spirit Smokey Grey's were the first to feature an orange Tennessee tristar emblem on the shoulders and have the Tennessee word mark on the front of the jersey. The helmet was similar to the 2016 version with the only difference being the helmet strip that features a thin white stripe. This design would match the pants stripe and was inspired by the Tennessee state flag. These uniforms were worn for the 2024 home opening 69–3 win over the Chattanooga Mocs, marking the first time the University of Tennessee wore an alternate uniform to start the season.
2025's “Volunteer Spirit” design incorporates cues from military aircraft markings, including stencil-styled numbers, light gray trim, and light gray pants.
The orange and white colors worn by the football team were selected by Charles Moore, a member of the very first Tennessee football team in 1891. They were from theAmerican Daisy which grew onThe Hill, the home of most of the classrooms at the university at the time (now housing most of the chemistry and physics programset al.). Tennessee football players did not wear the color until 1922 however.[23]
Theorange color is distinct to the school, dubbed "UT Orange", and has been offered byThe Home Depot for sale as a paint, licensed by the university. Home games atNeyland Stadium have been described as a "sea of Orange" due to the large number of fans wearing the school color; the monikerBig Orange, as in "Go Big Orange!", derives from the usage of UT Orange.
The color isspot color PMS 151 as described by the university.[24]
In addition to the famous orange and white, UT also has had the little-knownSmokey Gray color since the 1930s and debuted the color in the October 5, 2013, rivalry game against Georgia in an alternate jersey.[25]
Orange and white checkerboard end zones are unique toNeyland Stadium.
Tennessee first sported their famous orange and whitecheckerboardend zone design, inspired by the checkerboard design around the top of the clock tower at the historicAyres Hall,[26] in 1964 under coach Dickey and remained until artificial turf was installed atNeyland Stadium in 1968.[27] The checkerboard was brought back in 1989 with an orange border, which went away when natural grass returned to the field 1994. The return of natural grass brought with it the return of the empty grass colored border that exists today.[28]
Rocky Top is not the official Tennessee fight song (Down the Field is the official fight song), as is widely believed, but is the most popular in use by the Pride of the Southland Marching Band. The Band began playing the fight song during the 1970s after it became popular as a Bluegrass tune by theOsborne Brothers. The fight song is widely recognized as one of the most hated by opponents in collegiate sports.[29] The song became one of Tennessee's state songs in 1982.
Smokey IX before a November 2007 game against Vanderbilt.
Smokey is the mascot of the University of Tennessee sports teams, both men's and women's. ABluetick Coonhound mascot, Smokey X, leads the Vols on the field for football games. On game weekends, Smokey is cared for by the members ofAlpha Gamma Rho's Alpha Kappa chapter. There is also a costumed mascot, which has won several mascot championships, at every Vols game.[30]
Smokey was selected as the mascot for Tennessee after a student poll in 1953. A contest was held by the Pep Club that year; their desire was to select a coon hound that was native to Tennessee. At halftime of theMississippi State game that season, several hounds were introduced for voting, all lined up on the old cheerleaders' ramp at Neyland, with each dog being introduced over the loudspeaker and the student body cheering for their favorite. The late Rev. Bill Brooks' "Blue Smokey" was the last hound announced and howled loudly when introduced. The students cheered and Smokey threw his head back and barked again. This kept going until the stadium was roaring and UT had found its mascot, Smokey. The current Smokey is Smokey XI, after Smokey X was retired at the conclusion of the 2022 season. The most successful dog has been Smokey VIII who saw a record of 91–22, two SEC titles, and the 1998 National Championship.[31]
Head coach Johnny Majors came up with the idea for the Vol Walk after a 1988 game at Auburn when he saw the historic Tiger Walk take place. The walk became an official part of gameday in a Tennessee-Alabama match on October 20, 1990. Prior to each home game, the Vols will file out of the Neyland-Thompson Sports Complex, down past the Tennessee Volunteers Wall of Fame, and make their way down Peyton Manning Pass and onto Phillip Fulmer Way. Thousands of fans line the street to shake the players' hands as they walk intoNeyland Stadium. Through rain, snow, sleet, or sunshine, the Vol faithful are always out in full force to root on the Vols as they prepare for the game. The fans are always pumped up withRocky Top played by ThePride of the Southland Band.[32]
The Pride of the Southland is in formation while the UT team runs the T.5 min video of the opening sequence of a football game
The "T" appears in two special places in Vol history and tradition. The "T" first appeared in 1964 when coachDoug Dickey added the familiar block letter T onto the side of thehelmets; a rounded T came in 1968.Johnny Majors modified the famous orange helmet stripe to a thicker stripe in 1977.[33]
The Vols alsorun through the T. This T is formed by thePride of the Southlandmarching band with its base at the entrance to the Tennessee locker room in the north end zone with team personnel holding thestate flag and the UT flag, Smokey running in on the field, and the entire UT team storming in to loud cheers and applause from the 100,000-plus Vols fans in Neyland. When Coach Dickey brought this unique and now-famous tradition to UT in 1965, the Vols' locker room was underneath the East stands. The Vols would run through the T and simply turn back to return to their sideline. However, beginning in 1983, the team would make the famous left turn inside the T and run toward their former bench on the east sideline when the locker room was moved from the east sideline to the north end zone. It was announced on January 24, 2010, that the Vols would switch their sideline from the east sideline to the west sideline for all home games from then on. This resulted in the Vols making a right out of the T instead of a left. This change took effect with Tennessee's first home game of the 2010 season against UT-Martin.
Davy Crockett waving the UT flag during a November 3, 2007, game against Louisiana–Lafayette
The Volunteers (or Vols as it is commonly shortened to) derive that nickname from the State ofTennessee's nickname. Tennessee is known as the "Volunteer State", a nickname it earned during theWar of 1812, in which volunteer soldiers from Tennessee played a prominent role, especially during theBattle of New Orleans.[34]
Around 200 or more boats normally dock outsideNeyland Stadium on theTennessee River before games. The fleet was started by former Tennessee broadcaster George Mooney who docked his boat there first in 1962, as he wanted to avoid traffic around the stadium. What started as one man tying his runabout to a nearby tree and climbing through a wooded area to the stadium has grown into one of college football's unique traditions. Many fans arrive several days in advance to socialize, and the Vols have built a large walkway so fans can safely walk to and from the shoreline. UT, theUniversity of Pittsburgh,Baylor University, and theUniversity of Washington are the only schools with football stadiums built next to major bodies of water.[35]
As of the end of the 2023 regular season, Tennessee was 11th all time in win-loss record by percentage and 10th by total wins. The all-time record is 870–415–53 (.670).[36] At Neyland Stadium, the Vols have a record of 478–141–17 (.765).[37] 11 additional wins from 2019 to 2020 were vacated by NCAA Committee on Infractions penalty ruling in July 2023. One of those victories was in a bowl game. Tennessee's all-time on-field record is 881–415–53(.673). The all-time on-field bowl record is 31–25(.554). Tennessee's all-time on-field record at Neyland Stadium is 494–142–18 (.770).
The UT football season records are taken from the official record books of the University Athletic Association. They have won 13 conference championships and six national titles in their history and their last national championship was in the1998 college football season.[37]
Tennessee holds the NCAA record for the most consecutive shutout wins with 17. The streak started with a Volunteers win against Tennessee-Chattanooga on November 30, 1938, and ended with a 27–12 loss against Alabama on October 19, 1940. During this streak, Tennessee outscored its opponents 479–0. Tennessee also holds the record for the most consecutive quarters opponents held scoreless, with 71.[38]
The Vols play atNeyland Stadium, where Tennessee has an all-time winning record of 494 games, the highest home-field total in college football history for any school in the nation at its current home venue. The stadium surrounds Shields–Watkins Field, the official name of the playing surface.[39]
From 1992 to 2023, Tennessee played in the East Division of the SEC and played each opponent in the division each year along with several teams from the West Division. In 2024, the SEC expanded the conference to 16 teams and eliminated its two divisions, causing a new scheduling format for the Volunteers to play against the other members of the conference. After initially only releasing the 2024 schedule, the 2025 schedule was announced at SEC Media Days where the teams will play the same opponents in 2025 that they are scheduled to play in 2024, with sites changed for equal home and away competition over the course of the two seasons, while the conference still considers a new format for the future.[188]
^Stanton, Jimmy; Yellin, Jason; Kniffen, Mary-Carter, eds. (2014).2014 Tennessee Football Media Guide. University of Tennessee Department of Athletics. pp. 1,160–174. RetrievedMay 5, 2015.
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