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Rocky Top!!
Sing along with Rocky Top and the Alma Mater
Select this to link to get the song lyrics in a Adobe PDF document.
Nickname,
'Volunteers'
The University of Tennessee draws its nickname (Volunteers)
from the name most associated with the state.
Tennessee acquired its name "The Volunteer
State" in the early days of the nineteenth century in the War of 1812. At the request of President James Madison, Gen.
Andrew Jackson, later President, mustered 1500 from his home state to fight the Indians and later the British at the Battle
of New Orleans.
The dragoon uniform worn by Tennessee regulars during that conflict is still seen adorning the
color guard at UT athletic events.
Orange and White The
"Big Orange," quickly recognized and sported by Volunteers everywhere.
In 1889, Charles Moore, president of the Athletic Association, decided that for the upcoming field day
he would dress in what he believed were appropriate school colors. His choice was orange and white, a combination derived
from the common daisy that few profusely upon "the Hill." Moore's spirited choice had yet to become official, however.
Student's uniforms (UT was a military school at the time) were blue and white, and the baseball team dressed in red and black.
It was not long before more and more students wore the orange and white to athletic events. The question was put to the student
body in 1892, and, after seesawing back and forth, the students elected to have the now familiar combination.
-- from
Volunteer Moments, Vignettes of the History of The University of Tennessee by Milton M. Klein.
Pride of the Southland Band
University of Tennessee's Pride of the Southland Band
The University of Tennessee band was organized
immediately after the Civil War when the University reopened. Since then, the enrollment in the band program has grown to
more than 300 students (in all bands) from all colleges of the University.
The most famous of these units is the marching band. The full "Pride of the Southland Band," appears at all home football
games and most out-of-town games before more than 850,000 spectators plus millions more on television.
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Smokey
No Ordinary
Hound! The
Pep Club held a contest in 1953 to select a coonhound, a native breed of Tennessee, as the mascot to represent the school.
Announcements of the contest in local newspapers read, "This can't be an ordinary hound. He must be a Houn' Dog' in the
best sense of the word." The late Rev. Bill Brooks entered his
prize-winning blue tick coonhound, "Brooks' Blue Smokey." During halftime of the Mississippi State game, the candidate
dogs were lined up on the old cheerleaders' ramp at Shields-Watkins Field. Each dog was introduced over the loudspeaker and
the student body cheered for their favorite, with "Blue Smokey" being the last hound introduced. When his name was
called, he barked. The students cheered and Smokey threw his head back and barked again. This kept going until the stadium
was in an uproar and UT had found its mascot.
Neyland Stadium The
No. 1 college football stadium in the country. In
the spring of 2001, The Sporting News named Neyland Stadium as the No. 1 college football stadium in the country. In
the stadium rankings, TSN used four criteria -- setting, structure, fans and history. Neyland Stadium ranked high in all areas
in the poll. In terms of setting, TSN said, "There is not a better view in college football. On one side of the stadium
is the Tennessee River, where fans arrive by boat and tailgate hours before kickoff and hours after the game. On the other
side is The Hill, the historic center of UT's old campus."
Naturally
the stadium also received rave reviews. "It's enormous. And it keeps getting bigger ... the facility is unlike any other
in the nation. It rises straight up from the ground, towering over the playing field and intimidating opponents with its size."
But it is the Big Orange faithful that also receive strong reviews from the magazine, noting "Ah, the Tennessee
fan. Obsessed and passionate; maniacal and frightening. Step into Neyland and feel the orange experience.
Neyland
Stadium is the nation's third largest college football stadium with an official capacity of 104,079. In the 2000 season,
UT drew a record crowd of 108,768 fans for its contest against Florida and averaged a single-season record of 107,595 for
six home games.
The Vols own an all-time record of 383-17 (.801) at Neyland Stadium including a 5-1 mark in 2000.
The Vols have had 70 winning seasons in 79 years in the stadium, including 35 undefeated years at home including the 1997,
1998 and 1999 seasons.
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