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You know, we're a tradition-rich place, and we should be uh in the conversation in any sport relative to you know competing at the at the top.
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We're getting close to positioning all 20 sports as a perennial power now, but honoring our past while innovating for the future is something we remind ourselves of every day.
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Hey y'all, welcome back to the Everything Orange podcast presented by First Horizon Bank.
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As we've already started the 2026 season, there are so many new things happening around us, whether it's partnerships or jersey patches or upgrades inside Nieland Stadium and even all the construction going on around it.
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Vall Nation has so many exciting things to look forward to.
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And here in the podcast studio with us today is the man behind it all to talk through all that fans can expect this upcoming season and maybe should some more insight too as to the changes being made around the athletic department.
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So please welcome to the Everything Orange Podcast, Athletic Director Danny White.
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Athletic Director Danny White, welcome back to the Everything Orange Podcast.
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Thank you.
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Appreciate it.
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Appreciate you having me.
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Can you believe that you're already entering your sixth season here on Rocky Top?
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Uh sometimes it feels like much shorter than that.
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Sometimes it feels like an eternity.
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Uh it's been a uh just an awesome ride, and I feel great about the foundation we've built.
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But uh I I do believe our our best days are ahead of us.
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Absolutely.
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And I feel like for those that know you, they know you to be a very competitive guy.
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You want to win in everything that you do, which is also similar to our fans.
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They have so much passion.
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You have so much passion.
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How does that competitive drive push you forward in everything that you do here at Tennessee?
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You know, what that that's one of the joys of being at at Tennessee.
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We we believe strongly that we can win in everything.
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We are an everything school.
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Uh, and it's the strength of this fan base.
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It's the engine behind it.
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Uh, but we've built up a resource base that uh positions all 20 of our sports to compete for SEC and national championships.
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We got the best roster of head coaches in the country, really talented coaching staff, student athletes, everyone around it.
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Uh I think we're we're well positioned to build the best athletic department in America.
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So if that makes me competitive, then I I guess that's the case.
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Aaron Powell And because the definition of what it takes to win is different now compared to even just a couple years ago, it's ever evolving.
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What it took back then looks a lot different than what it does now.
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How do you continue to adjust and reimagine the ways that Tennessee is able to find success while also not becoming complacent?
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I think like anything in leadership and successful organizations, surround yourself with people smarter than you.
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So we have uh a bunch of people all the time.
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Uh uh just uh, you know, in in the era of NIL and the ever-changing rules and landscape, uh, we're constantly trying to skate to where the puck is going.
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Uh that's a part of the competition.
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Our our coaches need us to be prepared uh and and give them the tools they need to be successful.
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And when you look at where Tennessee athletics stands today, where do you think we've made the biggest strides as an athletic department?
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And maybe where are some areas that you think there are still some room to grow?
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I think, you know, we had fallen off in in a lot of areas uh from where we were at our heyday in the in the 90s and early 2000s.
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And uh one of those areas is facilities.
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I think we've pretty much caught up.
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We still have a couple key projects we need to do, but we we've made a lot of ground and got a lot of our programs where they need to be from a facility standpoint, and our fan experience from where it needs to be from a facility standpoint.
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Uh from a budget standpoint, we're we are a leader.
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Uh every single one of our sports is number one or number two in the country in operational budget.
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Uh our roster budgets are all uh in the upper uh upper echelon uh across the board.
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Uh so you know that wasn't the case, but you you have to have the resources to do that.
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So we've built our revenue from 140 in 2021 to well, past 375 this year.
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And that's just an unbelievable testament to the power of all nation.
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We have the best fan base in all of sport, uh, and that uh lends itself to uh resource generation in a lot of different ways that I I didn't even realize.
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Right.
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I didn't realize that licensing and concessions could be such a big deal.
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But when you lead the country in those things, it turns into uh a significant amount of money that we can use uh to invest in our programs.
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So I I think we've come a long way and we have a really strong foundation uh to continue to chase championships, and that's that's what we're all in it for.
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One thing that we're already seeing that's different this year compared to years past comes with our uniforms with the addition of jerse patches.
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Kind of talk to me about how that idea came to be for our athletic department and the plan that we decided to go forward with.
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Yeah, well the NCAA rule uh opened up, you know, everyone is is chasing resources.
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It's it's a part of the competition, not just for us, but uh I like to remind people and sometimes remember remind myself the other schools want to win too.
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Right.
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Uh it's highly, highly competitive and they have passionate fan bases.
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And uh uh so a part of that, uh what we've seen for a long time in professional sports is uh uh the ability to put a corporate logo on your jersey.
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Uh there are some examples where there's a bunch of logos on jerseys.
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We have a very strong tradition.
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The pageantry and history of Tennessee is something that's very important to me, to us.
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So finding a way to do that in a way that honors our our traditions, uh, I think we we've found two great partners in Axel Logistics and First Horizon, who's been our longest tenured uh supporter from a corporate sponsorship standpoint over over 35 years.
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And uh so these are local Tennessee companies.
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I think that the way that the the brand is presented on our jersey really fits, obviously our colors, but uh fits uh our our uniform and and adds to our uniform.
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So really excited about those partnerships.
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Uh and we'll always look for ways to generate more resources.
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Our coaches need it.
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Uh our uh our competitive uh uh desires need it.
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Yes.
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Uh but we're gonna continue to do it tastefully in ways that that honors uh Tennessee traditions.
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Well, you mentioned Axel Logistics and First Horizon Bank.
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Axle Logistics is on the men's and women's basketball uniforms this year, and First Horizon Bank is on our football jerseys, which is a very unique approach compared to many athletic departments across the country, separating up those assets instead of using one brand across the board.
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Why was that important for us to do?
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It kind of evolved to that.
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Um the goal was to find uh, you know, a tasteful solution, uh, uh align ourselves with with companies that we feel like align with our brand values um and to maximize value.
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And and and uh we kind of pivoted along the way and and realized the best way to do that was to break up the sports a little bit.
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We still have baseball, softball, uh, which could be two different or could be one.
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Uh we're continuing to explore opportunities.
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And I think the connections behind both of those companies is also really unique because Axel Logistics is newer to the region than it was founded by UT grads.
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And then, like you mentioned, First Horizon Bank has been a 30-plus year partner with us.
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But at the bottom line, both of those partners genuinely want to invest in what we're building here at Tennessee.
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Why is that so important that those companies have the full picture, the full understanding of what we're doing here?
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I think they both believe in what we're doing.
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They believe in the student athlete mission.
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They believe that the power of an athletics department, how it can be such a powerful marketing engine for an entire institution.
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And uh when you think about the economic impact of our athletics department and our entire university on our local community in the entire state of Tennessee, it's pretty significant.
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Uh and these are two companies that care about Tennessee and care about Duvalls.
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Uh so it it's a it's it's a great partnership with both of them, and and uh I think one that'll continue to grow.
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And what do these partnerships with Tennessee allow us to be able to directly benefit the student athlete experience and our programs?
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Every resource matters.
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Uh the donations matter, ticket sales, licensing revenue.
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When you buy it uh a hat at at Dick Sporting Goods, that helps us too.
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Uh uh everything across the board.
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We we generate revenue uh holistically and and uh try to be as aggressive as we can um because we know how important it is, and then we invest strategically.
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Uh for each of our 20 sports, there are different things that may or may may or may not be more important.
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Uh so we don't just take it in and you know allocate it in a you know percentage way.
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It's it's not like that.
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Uh different different coaches and different programs have different needs at different times.
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Uh, but the bigger my wallet is to be able to uh say yes as many times as possible to our coaches and and oftentimes also help them figure out, uh especially in this uh evolving landscape, uh what things are more important now that maybe weren't as important before.
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Uh so uh every dollar matters.
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Another partnership that came to life this summer was Tennessee's return to Adidas.
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And you've talked before about how different this partnership is compared to other apparel deals.
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Now that it's officially underway, what stands out to you the most about this relationship we have so far?
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Loving the three strikes.
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And uh I was so impressed with their whole leadership team.
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And it's been fun for me since July to see now our fans and our community see the same things I saw when I visited them out in in Portland well over a year ago now.
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And I I think it's it's uh it was a great partnership for us back in the day.
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And uh uh we want to get back to winning more SEC and national championships, and I think they are the right brand to help us do that.
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They have prioritized, as you've heard me say it before, college, and within that, they've prioritized Tennessee.
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They understand the power of Val Nation.
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I think we can accomplish or help them accomplish their goals, and they can help us accomplish ours.
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And the way in which we launched this partnership was also really eye-catching for not only Val Nation, but for college sports fans across the country.
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It wasn't just a one-day here we go, and we moved on.
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We made it like a whole week, 10-day event for fans to get excited about the next day as to what was gonna come because we had sports from football and the basketballs, baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer, so many represented in that whole group.
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Why was that intentional to make it more of this event, more of this production than just checking the box?
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I'd expect nothing less from the best creative team in the country.
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You're a part of it.
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Yes, yes.
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Uh they had an awesome plan, as they do all the time.
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And they're they're gonna continue.
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Uh you and and the team are gonna continue to entertain us throughout the season.
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I know there's more plans that our fans haven't even heard about yet that people have been working on for months.
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Uh, but that that's uh uh something that that's important to us.
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Um and when when you spend the time and and make it a priority to to think of innovative ways to present something like an apparel uh partnership, you know, you can you can do that at a lot of different schools, but at Tennessee, the impact is so much greater.
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We saw the visibility and the impressions and all the social media metrics.
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It's it's it's unbelievable uh because of the power of our fan base.
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I think it's also important to note, too, that the month of July is pretty slow for us.
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It's when we kind of get a chance to catch our breath and fans are going on vacation, they're traveling, they're not really tuned in to what's going on, at least on social media with all of our athletic teams.
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However, this time there were so many conversations around what was happening.
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What were you learning about our fan base and the way that our fans and other sports, you know, fans across the country were engaging in what we were doing?
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Yeah, you know, I think I was a lot like uh our fans.
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I was trying to catch a fish while I was also following it all.
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So while they're whether they're at the beach or the lake or whatever they're doing, we were entertaining them.
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Yes, exactly.
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Now our fans, you know, got to first look at everything.
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They saw the new uniforms, they saw all of the apparel that they can go out and buy and really start to get excited.
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So, what are you most excited about with the future of this partnership with Adidas?
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I I I think just being with a brand and a company and and and the people involved that are like-minded.
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You know, they're innovative.
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Uh it any healthy partnership, the best partnerships, I think, constantly evolve.
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And uh we've already, in the short time since July, we're we're evolving.
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And uh how we interact in uh uniforms and future plans, uh how we interact in the NIL space, the opportunities for our student athletes, uh not only from an NIL standpoint, but also to be a part of their innovation, uh, I think is is really cool.
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And um we're we're we're just scratching the surface, I think, with this partnership.
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Aaron Powell Now we've talked about the new when it comes to our uniforms, but I also want to touch on the old because this fall in Neal and Stadium, we're gonna see Tennessee and Alabama both wearing their home uniforms.
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It's gonna be so awesome.
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Talk to me about how bringing back that tradition all came to be.
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Yeah, it's something that's been talked about for a while.
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And uh I I've seen the pictures and it's it's the it's the greatest rivalry in uh you know, the third third Saturday in October in college football.
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And uh I I can't wait to see it now in you know uh HD full colored on our screen.
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So it'll be awesome.
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And college athletics, you know, looks a lot different now than it did five, ten, fifteen, twenty years ago.
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But it's moments like these that are so rooted deeply in our sports history and tradition.
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Why is it so important to find those opportunities to celebrate tradition while everything around us in college athletic athletics evolves?
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Probably more important today than ever before because everything's changing so fast.
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Uh but we are, and I've said since the the day I got here, almost six years ago, as you remind me, uh but uh you know, we're a tradition-rich place.
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And uh we should be uh in the conversation uh uh in in any sport uh relative to you know competing at the at the top, uh, because we've been there.
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And uh you pick the sport, there have been times when we've uh uh you know been been uh a perennial power and uh we're getting close to positioning all 20 sports as a perennial power now, but uh uh honoring our past while innovating for the future is something we remind ourselves of every day.
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Another place we've seen the balance of preserving the tradition and continuing to evolve is our big and beautiful Nealan Stadium across the street.
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And every offseason, it feels like our fans get to be excited about something new or upgraded or improved when they come back every fall.
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So when you look at Nealan now compared to where it was when you first got here, what's kind of guided your approach in the transformation of our stadium?
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A lot of what I just talked about in terms of honoring the past and and trying to be kind of tradition rich in the ways that we also beautify the stadium.
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And so Tickle Plaza in that southwest corner looks awesome.
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And yeah, uh the champions corner, we we got the General Nealand statue there, and getting Coach Fulmer and Coach Dickey there here soon uh to honor our national championship coaches, the way we dressed up with brick, uh the the Gate 10 ramp, and uh uh uh it's been a uh a long project, but we this this chapter kind of concludes the initial$337 million investment.
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It's taken the last four years, I guess.
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And uh but every offseason, as you mentioned, we've had different elements uh added to it.
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Um there are some things that maybe aren't as um uh uh eye-catching, but they're more functional.
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You know, we Neeland Stadium didn't have a kitchen.
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Now we have a huge kitchen commissary.
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Nealand Stadium didn't have service elevators to uh uh to to you know uh facilitate getting food and uh things back and forth to all the different areas.
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Now we have that.
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Uh we're able to expand some concourses on the north and south end zones just to give some more space for our fans.
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Um in addition to some of the things people see more, like the North End Zone deck and the other video board, the second video board and the uh TransCard Premier Club, and I go on and on the founder suites, and it's been a long project.
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A lot of people have worked really hard.
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Um, it's an iconic building.
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Uh, the Cathedral of College Football, there's probably still some work that needs to be done.
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Uh, we're kind of out of money at this point, but always looking for ways to uh to beautify it, make it more functional, make it a better experience for our fans.
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And for those that were in Neeland on Saturday for the game against Furman, something that they might have heard that was also different was the new sound system that got put in.
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What did you think of it and seeing it in its full effect on Saturday?
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Well, it was expensive enough, so I was glad to see that it worked really good.
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It's the best sound system in the world for a stadium that size, and uh it's been proven at at some NFL stadiums.
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Uh, and and yeah, it it it sounded awesome.
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Heard great feedback from our fans as well.
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We needed to get that addressed.
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It's it's something that's been on on high on the list for the last few years.
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And you mentioned the champions corner as well, which is just super special with the return of General Nealand.
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What was the vision behind it in creating that space for our fans to go and enjoy before going into the stadium?
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Continuing to find ways to to lift up and celebrate the many successes we've had in our past.
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Uh, you know, we we did the trailblazer statues when we when I first got here uh and we had intended to do uh uh national championship coaches in that uh southwest corner.
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That part of the construction was the last piece to finish.
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Uh and we'll we'll continue to look for more ways to celebrate, you know, iconic figures.
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And I just think it it makes for a more rich experience when people come back to campus on game day or even not on game day to learn about our past and and take pictures and things like that.
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So when we do the entertainment district, we'll have a plaza uh uh uh entering that space as well.
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And it could be another opportunity to lift up some uh fun, exciting memories for people.
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Now I might be getting ahead of myself here, but is there anything else on your wish list or things that you're hoping to maybe tackle or dive into in the near off season 2027?
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There's a long list.
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Uh, where do I begin?
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Yeah, we we still have some capital projects.
00:19:22.670 --> 00:19:24.190
We still need an indoor track.
00:19:24.269 --> 00:19:29.389
Uh we we could need an uh indoor facility for softball and and for baseball.
00:19:29.549 --> 00:19:31.230
Uh the top programs have those.
00:19:31.309 --> 00:19:33.549
We're working on those things all the time.
00:19:33.710 --> 00:19:39.230
Uh our major gift team is having uh conversations with people to try to facilitate those projects.
00:19:39.309 --> 00:19:43.470
Uh Nealand Stadium still has uh uh things that need to be improved.
00:19:43.629 --> 00:19:51.230
The East Concourse uh in particular, uh as great as the South Concourse is, uh expansion on level one.
00:19:51.389 --> 00:19:54.029
We we haven't been able to do enough on two and three.
00:19:54.109 --> 00:19:56.670
We've done some on three this year.
00:19:56.829 --> 00:19:59.389
Uh so there's still more work to do in Nealand.
00:19:59.549 --> 00:20:02.670
We have 29,400 accounts on a waiting list.
00:20:02.750 --> 00:20:04.829
We averaged three and a half tickets in account.
00:20:05.069 --> 00:20:05.389
Wow.
00:20:05.549 --> 00:20:10.829
Uh so if we could find a way to get more seats in that building, they'd be sold immediately.
00:20:10.910 --> 00:20:14.509
Uh and I I know people want to get in, I know more students want to come.
00:20:14.829 --> 00:20:18.670
Uh so there's there's a lot to be be considered there as well.
00:20:18.910 --> 00:20:26.349
Really excited about the entertainment district, the hotel, uh, the condo uh uh opportunity for for our our community.
00:20:26.509 --> 00:20:33.789
I think that'll lift up not just our game day, but our campus environment throughout the year and the whole Knoxville community.
00:20:33.950 --> 00:20:38.029
Uh so there there's there's a whole lot I could go on for probably an hour.
00:20:38.269 --> 00:20:38.910
There's more than that.
00:20:39.230 --> 00:20:40.349
How much time do we got here?
00:20:40.430 --> 00:20:46.430
Um well you talk about the future of the entire campus and Knoxville when you bring up the Nealan Entertainment District.
00:20:46.589 --> 00:20:52.430
When this project is eventually complete, what do you hope it adds to the experience of coming to Rocky Top?
00:20:52.750 --> 00:21:02.589
Yeah, I think it'll you know I hear the stories of uh what Cumberland was before from a student experience standpoint, not just on a game day on a random Tuesday night.
00:21:02.750 --> 00:21:11.149
Your parents are coming in town, you want a nice place to go out to dinner, and not that there aren't places there, but they're not as many as there used to be, uh, which in a lot of ways is a good thing.
00:21:11.309 --> 00:21:14.109
All that housing, the the university is growing so much.
00:21:14.269 --> 00:21:16.029
We're 41,000 students now.
00:21:16.190 --> 00:21:19.149
I think it was 30 when I got here, and I hadn't been here that long.
00:21:19.309 --> 00:21:25.789
Uh so uh uh it's it's progress, it's continuing to uh to to uh evolve.
00:21:25.869 --> 00:21:31.549
And um I I think the the social aspect of that for a UT student will be great.
00:21:32.029 --> 00:21:38.269
Um uh the ability for staff uh and students to go to lunch there and things of that nature.
00:21:38.349 --> 00:21:41.309
Uh game day, it'll be absolutely electric.
00:21:41.549 --> 00:21:41.789
Yeah.
00:21:41.950 --> 00:21:47.629
Uh it's been a proven model that way in professional sports, uh, but not just football games.
00:21:47.789 --> 00:21:56.109
Every single time the vols play, it will be a landing spot for people, you know, to grab dinner before or after a game, uh, concerts, all those things.
00:21:56.269 --> 00:22:08.190
And then all the boaters are excited in our community because they're telling me uh uh about boating destinations and uh uh uh the opportunity for you know outdoor concerts and things in the summer.
00:22:08.349 --> 00:22:11.789
Uh so it'll be a uh a unique uh asset for the Knoxville community.
00:22:12.109 --> 00:22:19.149
Well, that's what I was gonna emphasize was this point that it's bigger than just a couple Saturdays in the fall for our game days and fans.
00:22:19.230 --> 00:22:24.829
It's the Knoxville community that will be able to benefit from this and be able to experience it to its full effect, like you're kind of mentioned.
00:22:25.149 --> 00:22:31.309
Yeah, we probably have a hundred and thirty, one hundred and forty thousand people on our campus tailgating, only Two can come in the stadium.
00:22:32.509 --> 00:22:34.910
We don't need an entertainment district for it.
00:22:34.990 --> 00:22:37.629
I don't know if three, four, five thousand people will be in there.
00:22:37.789 --> 00:22:40.029
It'll be awesome for the people that are in there on game day.
00:22:40.109 --> 00:22:40.269
Yeah.
00:22:40.589 --> 00:22:42.509
But the project is much bigger than game day.
00:22:42.990 --> 00:22:50.750
And as you are building something, you know, completely new around Nealan, how do you modernize it, but also kind of keeping what makes it special, special?
00:22:51.149 --> 00:22:52.829
It it's a give and take.
00:22:52.990 --> 00:22:54.750
We talk about that all the time.
00:22:54.829 --> 00:23:04.670
Uh in with our creative team is always thinking about that with respect to uh uniform designs and all the different creative stuff we do.
00:23:04.750 --> 00:23:11.389
Uh and we we talk about that from a strategy standpoint, uh, our game day presentation.
00:23:11.549 --> 00:23:13.149
Uh we want to be innovative.
00:23:13.230 --> 00:23:22.109
We want to lead the way in college sports, uh, but we also understand we have a deep responsibility to honor uh our our traditions, honor our past.
00:23:22.509 --> 00:23:29.789
Well, let's talk a little bit of logistics here for one second, because one thing fans are gonna definitely notice uh this season is the loss of G10.
00:23:29.869 --> 00:23:39.309
But with a short-term loss like that, it makes way for something larger and better with a more modern garage next year, with the emphasis on improving fans coming in and out of campus.
00:23:39.549 --> 00:23:46.109
How will the project ultimately improve this experience um once it is complete for those coming onto campus for a game day?
00:23:46.430 --> 00:23:53.470
Yeah, it it it'll so everything below the entertainment district uh will be a much better experience.
00:23:53.869 --> 00:24:00.910
Uh the G10 garage was not built for events, it was built as a commuter garage, and uh it was kind of falling apart.
00:24:00.990 --> 00:24:04.029
We had issues with concrete was falling on cars.
00:24:04.190 --> 00:24:08.589
Uh it's an old uh facility, and so we're able to replace two-thirds of it.
00:24:08.750 --> 00:24:12.750
That other third closer to closest to the arena needs to be replaced at some point.
00:24:12.829 --> 00:24:13.789
It's aging.
00:24:14.029 --> 00:24:22.430
Uh, but the new uh garage will be you know, technology telling you where open spaces are, well lit, designed for an events.
00:24:22.750 --> 00:24:27.950
So ingress and egress should be a lot more efficient than what our fans are experiencing now.
00:24:28.190 --> 00:24:30.670
Uh uh and uh more spaces.
00:24:30.829 --> 00:24:35.389
Uh uh not a huge amount, but but I think it's a couple hundred more spaces.
00:24:35.549 --> 00:24:47.230
Uh so like anything, you you can't you can't improve Nealand Stadium without going through a little bit of the uh the dust and the uh uh uh inconveniences of Capital Projects.
00:24:47.309 --> 00:24:50.829
Uh same with Lindsay Nelson Stadium and and uh across the board.
00:24:50.990 --> 00:24:56.029
Uh but we're working with a really good group and experienced the 865 group.
00:24:56.190 --> 00:25:00.750
Uh they've they've turned around projects and put up parking garages really quickly.
00:25:00.910 --> 00:25:10.349
Uh so uh I'm confident that we'll be back up and running uh as as quick as possible uh and get uh get folks their parking space back.
00:25:10.509 --> 00:25:16.509
But asking folks to uh uh with respect to game days, it there's six Saturdays left.
00:25:16.670 --> 00:25:16.829
Yes.
00:25:17.149 --> 00:25:24.109
Uh where we you won't have a uh a G10 garage, but uh the the future is gonna be awesome.
00:25:24.430 --> 00:25:25.629
Yeah, we'll all get through together.
00:25:25.710 --> 00:25:25.869
Yeah.
00:25:26.029 --> 00:25:33.069
Uh you also had Kimley Horn conduct an off-season traffic study, and fans are starting to see that new traffic flow uh now as a result.
00:25:33.230 --> 00:25:41.309
What did you learn from that study and what can fans expect and maybe what should they know before they come onto campus for a game day for the rest of the season?
00:25:41.629 --> 00:25:50.829
Yeah, uh uh uh you know one of the leaders nationally, a group out of Kim uh Kimley Horn out of Nashville, uh they've been on our campus for the last year.
00:25:50.990 --> 00:26:00.829
We've had drones flying, studying traffic patterns with respect to football and basketball uh and concerts to understand with this really tight, unique footprint.
00:26:00.910 --> 00:26:03.389
Our footprint is what makes everything here awesome.
00:26:03.629 --> 00:26:05.869
You know, our facilities are so close to each other.
00:26:06.029 --> 00:26:08.029
We have the river, it's all great.
00:26:08.509 --> 00:26:12.430
Uh, but getting 100,000 people in and out is hard, really hard.
00:26:12.670 --> 00:26:12.829
Right.
00:26:13.069 --> 00:26:18.589
Uh particularly when you add in the element of security screening, which we just started in 2021.
00:26:18.670 --> 00:26:25.629
Uh and uh the SEC voted to to move toward that in 2019, uh, and then COVID happened.
00:26:25.789 --> 00:26:33.470
And uh we all know that having security is an important thing at an event with that many people, uh, but it creates a lot of complications.
00:26:33.549 --> 00:26:42.190
So they've been a great partner, uh, as has UT Police, uh Knox County, Knox City, uh our athletics event staff.
00:26:42.269 --> 00:26:44.349
Uh we've had great support on campus.
00:26:44.509 --> 00:26:49.789
It's it's a complicated endeavor, but I I feel like we have a really uh good plan.
00:26:50.269 --> 00:26:56.029
Uh uh we have a lot more lanes going, uh, as they call it, contra flow is a term I've learned.
00:26:56.269 --> 00:26:56.430
Okay.
00:26:56.670 --> 00:27:02.509
So multiple lanes, three lanes going west on Nealand post-game, two lanes going west on Cumberland post-game.
00:27:02.670 --> 00:27:04.670
Uh that that wasn't happening before.
00:27:04.829 --> 00:27:09.549
I think we have a plan, and the goal is to get campus empty uh within an hour after kick.
00:27:09.789 --> 00:27:11.149
And that's hard to do.
00:27:11.309 --> 00:27:21.789
Uh, but uh what's really important, and I've I've said this a bunch, and I'm gonna say it right now, for fans, when you get your parking pass, we're telling you the way to come and the way to go.
00:27:21.950 --> 00:27:28.029
And that might be different than how you normally come to campus or or or go back home, but there's a reason behind it.
00:27:28.109 --> 00:27:32.509
Uh, and it will be the most efficient and best way for for you for you to get home after the game.
00:27:32.750 --> 00:27:45.389
When you take a step back and you think of everything that we've kind of talked about from you know, jersey patches, partnerships, the stadium, everything around the stadium, so much has changed since when you first arrived.
00:27:45.549 --> 00:27:52.029
What maybe are you most proud of that people might not know, or that doesn't necessarily show up on the scoreboard?
00:27:52.430 --> 00:27:54.589
I think the culture we have in our building.
00:27:54.670 --> 00:28:00.509
Uh, one of the first things we did as just an example, Smokey's our nutrition center, was football only.
00:28:00.670 --> 00:28:10.829
And uh, I think my first month here, we said, no, we're gonna have all sports and we're gonna be intentional about creating a culture of uh serious-minded, competitive men and women.
00:28:10.910 --> 00:28:16.670
We have 450 student athletes from 20 different sports, and they need to make winning decisions every day.
00:28:16.910 --> 00:28:24.910
And that's uh, I think the biggest reason we've had our best in the aggregate, we've had our best competitive window in the history of Tennessee athletics.
00:28:24.990 --> 00:28:26.829
We've won three SEC All Sports Cups.
00:28:26.910 --> 00:28:28.190
We had never done that before.
00:28:28.349 --> 00:28:32.109
The national all sports standings, we've been higher than we've ever been before.
00:28:32.190 --> 00:28:35.629
I think we've had our three highest, uh, and we're not satisfied.
00:28:35.789 --> 00:28:36.910
We we want more.
00:28:37.149 --> 00:28:55.470
Uh, but uh uh for them to not just have lunch and breakfast together, but uh interact with each other, support each other, uh, make the most of themselves as a person, as a student, as an athlete, um, has allowed uh the kind of results we've had, and and and I expect even better results as we continue to go.
00:28:55.710 --> 00:28:57.069
And it's not just competitive.
00:28:57.230 --> 00:29:01.470
We've also had our highest marks in the classroom in the history of Tennessee athletics.
00:29:01.549 --> 00:29:06.349
We've had seven straight semesters where every single team GPA was over a 3.0.
00:29:06.509 --> 00:29:08.109
That had never happened before.
00:29:08.349 --> 00:29:14.029
I feel strongly that there's a there's a correlation between competitive and academic success.
00:29:14.190 --> 00:29:20.829
Because again, it comes back to those winning decisions and your peer group helping you make the the right decisions every single day.
00:29:21.149 --> 00:29:33.069
And then you even have someone like a VFL with Jamai May Shack coming back to Rocky Top and partnering with local communities here that he did while he was in school and while he's a professional, making sure that it's a point in his life to do that.
00:29:33.230 --> 00:29:42.670
So to your point, it's not just what's happening on the field or in the classroom or in the community, it's across the board that's important for all of us here with the culture that we have here at Tennessee.
00:29:42.990 --> 00:29:43.389
No question.
00:29:44.190 --> 00:29:45.069
It's across the board.
00:29:45.149 --> 00:29:51.950
Our athletes understand the platform and the privilege they have to represent this university and this fan base.
00:29:52.269 --> 00:29:52.349
Yeah.
00:29:52.589 --> 00:30:01.950
Finally, now that we have another athletic season at Tennessee here upon us, what are you most looking forward to as this 2026-27 year is already up and running?
00:30:02.269 --> 00:30:03.710
I think it's gonna be a monster year.
00:30:03.789 --> 00:30:06.910
I I feel really good about where we are across the board.
00:30:07.069 --> 00:30:11.950
Um, I think we're gonna we're gonna see a ton of uh uh wins.
00:30:12.109 --> 00:30:12.190
Yeah.
00:30:12.509 --> 00:30:14.589
I think we're gonna see teams compete for championships.
00:30:14.750 --> 00:30:16.509
I think we're gonna win championships.
00:30:16.750 --> 00:30:23.710
Uh I I think uh all 20 of our sports are really positioned well to be a player uh in the SEC and on the national stage.
00:30:24.029 --> 00:30:26.670
Well, Athletic Director Danny White, thank you so much for the time.
00:30:26.750 --> 00:30:32.509
We know that you are super busy, so we will let you get back to all that you have, making everything here run so smoothly for us.
00:30:32.589 --> 00:30:37.389
And we appreciate you and all that you do, and we can't wait to see you at some of the games here this fall.
00:30:37.710 --> 00:30:38.190
Let's go.
00:30:38.349 --> 00:30:41.470
Let's uh but what what what does uh our football staff say?
00:30:41.549 --> 00:30:42.670
Uh snap the ball, right?
00:30:42.829 --> 00:30:43.389
Snap the ball.
00:30:43.710 --> 00:30:44.190
Yes, exactly.
00:30:44.269 --> 00:30:44.829
It's time to go.
00:30:45.149 --> 00:30:45.869
It's time to go.
00:30:46.349 --> 00:30:47.389
Let's get on it.
00:30:47.710 --> 00:30:48.349
Thank you so much.
00:30:48.670 --> 00:30:49.149
All right, thank you.
00:30:49.309 --> 00:30:54.750
Thanks so much, y'all, for tuning in to this episode of Everything Orange, as athletic director Danny White said.
00:30:54.829 --> 00:30:59.389
There are so many exciting things to look forward to this season here on Rocky Top.
00:30:59.710 --> 00:31:05.470
So make sure you stay up to date by checking out utsports.com and following us on all of our social platforms.
00:31:05.710 --> 00:31:06.190
Thanks so much.
00:31:06.349 --> 00:31:07.149
We'll see you next week.
00:31:07.309 --> 00:31:07.869
Bye y'all.
00:00:30.190 --> 00:00:37.710
You know, we're a tradition-rich place, and we should be uh in the conversation in any sport relative to you know competing at the at the top.
00:00:37.870 --> 00:00:47.950
We're getting close to positioning all 20 sports as a perennial power now, but honoring our past while innovating for the future is something we remind ourselves of every day.
00:00:51.630 --> 00:00:56.750
Hey y'all, welcome back to the Everything Orange podcast presented by First Horizon Bank.
00:00:56.990 --> 00:01:09.710
As we've already started the 2026 season, there are so many new things happening around us, whether it's partnerships or jersey patches or upgrades inside Nieland Stadium and even all the construction going on around it.
00:01:09.950 --> 00:01:13.310
Vall Nation has so many exciting things to look forward to.
00:01:13.469 --> 00:01:26.189
And here in the podcast studio with us today is the man behind it all to talk through all that fans can expect this upcoming season and maybe should some more insight too as to the changes being made around the athletic department.
00:01:26.349 --> 00:01:30.430
So please welcome to the Everything Orange Podcast, Athletic Director Danny White.
00:01:30.590 --> 00:01:34.510
Athletic Director Danny White, welcome back to the Everything Orange Podcast.
00:01:34.750 --> 00:01:35.070
Thank you.
00:01:35.230 --> 00:01:35.710
Appreciate it.
00:01:35.870 --> 00:01:36.750
Appreciate you having me.
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Can you believe that you're already entering your sixth season here on Rocky Top?
00:01:42.269 --> 00:01:45.150
Uh sometimes it feels like much shorter than that.
00:01:45.230 --> 00:01:47.150
Sometimes it feels like an eternity.
00:01:47.310 --> 00:01:52.269
Uh it's been a uh just an awesome ride, and I feel great about the foundation we've built.
00:01:52.430 --> 00:01:55.070
But uh I I do believe our our best days are ahead of us.
00:01:55.310 --> 00:01:55.710
Absolutely.
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And I feel like for those that know you, they know you to be a very competitive guy.
00:01:59.629 --> 00:02:03.790
You want to win in everything that you do, which is also similar to our fans.
00:02:03.950 --> 00:02:04.989
They have so much passion.
00:02:05.150 --> 00:02:06.590
You have so much passion.
00:02:06.750 --> 00:02:11.870
How does that competitive drive push you forward in everything that you do here at Tennessee?
00:02:12.189 --> 00:02:15.629
You know, what that that's one of the joys of being at at Tennessee.
00:02:15.949 --> 00:02:19.710
We we believe strongly that we can win in everything.
00:02:19.870 --> 00:02:21.629
We are an everything school.
00:02:21.870 --> 00:02:24.030
Uh, and it's the strength of this fan base.
00:02:24.189 --> 00:02:25.790
It's the engine behind it.
00:02:25.949 --> 00:02:33.629
Uh, but we've built up a resource base that uh positions all 20 of our sports to compete for SEC and national championships.
00:02:33.870 --> 00:02:40.349
We got the best roster of head coaches in the country, really talented coaching staff, student athletes, everyone around it.
00:02:40.509 --> 00:02:45.310
Uh I think we're we're well positioned to build the best athletic department in America.
00:02:45.390 --> 00:02:48.509
So if that makes me competitive, then I I guess that's the case.
00:02:48.590 --> 00:02:56.669
Aaron Powell And because the definition of what it takes to win is different now compared to even just a couple years ago, it's ever evolving.
00:02:56.830 --> 00:03:00.270
What it took back then looks a lot different than what it does now.
00:03:00.509 --> 00:03:08.430
How do you continue to adjust and reimagine the ways that Tennessee is able to find success while also not becoming complacent?
00:03:08.830 --> 00:03:14.669
I think like anything in leadership and successful organizations, surround yourself with people smarter than you.
00:03:14.909 --> 00:03:17.390
So we have uh a bunch of people all the time.
00:03:17.469 --> 00:03:27.710
Uh uh just uh, you know, in in the era of NIL and the ever-changing rules and landscape, uh, we're constantly trying to skate to where the puck is going.
00:03:28.110 --> 00:03:29.870
Uh that's a part of the competition.
00:03:30.030 --> 00:03:35.550
Our our coaches need us to be prepared uh and and give them the tools they need to be successful.
00:03:35.870 --> 00:03:42.430
And when you look at where Tennessee athletics stands today, where do you think we've made the biggest strides as an athletic department?
00:03:42.509 --> 00:03:45.870
And maybe where are some areas that you think there are still some room to grow?
00:03:46.270 --> 00:03:53.629
I think, you know, we had fallen off in in a lot of areas uh from where we were at our heyday in the in the 90s and early 2000s.
00:03:53.789 --> 00:03:56.030
And uh one of those areas is facilities.
00:03:56.110 --> 00:03:57.469
I think we've pretty much caught up.
00:03:57.550 --> 00:04:09.469
We still have a couple key projects we need to do, but we we've made a lot of ground and got a lot of our programs where they need to be from a facility standpoint, and our fan experience from where it needs to be from a facility standpoint.
00:04:09.629 --> 00:04:12.669
Uh from a budget standpoint, we're we are a leader.
00:04:12.750 --> 00:04:17.069
Uh every single one of our sports is number one or number two in the country in operational budget.
00:04:17.230 --> 00:04:23.949
Uh our roster budgets are all uh in the upper uh upper echelon uh across the board.
00:04:24.110 --> 00:04:28.990
Uh so you know that wasn't the case, but you you have to have the resources to do that.
00:04:29.069 --> 00:04:35.870
So we've built our revenue from 140 in 2021 to well, past 375 this year.
00:04:36.029 --> 00:04:40.110
And that's just an unbelievable testament to the power of all nation.
00:04:40.189 --> 00:04:48.990
We have the best fan base in all of sport, uh, and that uh lends itself to uh resource generation in a lot of different ways that I I didn't even realize.
00:04:49.230 --> 00:04:49.309
Right.
00:04:49.549 --> 00:04:52.750
I didn't realize that licensing and concessions could be such a big deal.
00:04:53.070 --> 00:04:59.549
But when you lead the country in those things, it turns into uh a significant amount of money that we can use uh to invest in our programs.
00:04:59.710 --> 00:05:08.509
So I I think we've come a long way and we have a really strong foundation uh to continue to chase championships, and that's that's what we're all in it for.
00:05:08.909 --> 00:05:17.070
One thing that we're already seeing that's different this year compared to years past comes with our uniforms with the addition of jerse patches.
00:05:17.870 --> 00:05:23.710
Kind of talk to me about how that idea came to be for our athletic department and the plan that we decided to go forward with.
00:05:24.110 --> 00:05:28.909
Yeah, well the NCAA rule uh opened up, you know, everyone is is chasing resources.
00:05:28.990 --> 00:05:36.190
It's it's a part of the competition, not just for us, but uh I like to remind people and sometimes remember remind myself the other schools want to win too.
00:05:36.590 --> 00:05:36.750
Right.
00:05:36.990 --> 00:05:40.350
Uh it's highly, highly competitive and they have passionate fan bases.
00:05:40.509 --> 00:05:50.029
And uh uh so a part of that, uh what we've seen for a long time in professional sports is uh uh the ability to put a corporate logo on your jersey.
00:05:50.190 --> 00:05:54.029
Uh there are some examples where there's a bunch of logos on jerseys.
00:05:54.269 --> 00:05:56.750
We have a very strong tradition.
00:05:56.990 --> 00:06:00.990
The pageantry and history of Tennessee is something that's very important to me, to us.
00:06:01.230 --> 00:06:18.830
So finding a way to do that in a way that honors our our traditions, uh, I think we we've found two great partners in Axel Logistics and First Horizon, who's been our longest tenured uh supporter from a corporate sponsorship standpoint over over 35 years.
00:06:18.990 --> 00:06:21.629
And uh so these are local Tennessee companies.
00:06:21.870 --> 00:06:31.549
I think that the way that the the brand is presented on our jersey really fits, obviously our colors, but uh fits uh our our uniform and and adds to our uniform.
00:06:31.710 --> 00:06:33.789
So really excited about those partnerships.
00:06:33.870 --> 00:06:37.789
Uh and we'll always look for ways to generate more resources.
00:06:37.950 --> 00:06:39.070
Our coaches need it.
00:06:39.149 --> 00:06:43.789
Uh our uh our competitive uh uh desires need it.
00:06:43.950 --> 00:06:44.110
Yes.
00:06:44.350 --> 00:06:49.470
Uh but we're gonna continue to do it tastefully in ways that that honors uh Tennessee traditions.
00:06:49.789 --> 00:06:52.990
Well, you mentioned Axel Logistics and First Horizon Bank.
00:06:53.149 --> 00:07:09.470
Axle Logistics is on the men's and women's basketball uniforms this year, and First Horizon Bank is on our football jerseys, which is a very unique approach compared to many athletic departments across the country, separating up those assets instead of using one brand across the board.
00:07:09.629 --> 00:07:11.230
Why was that important for us to do?
00:07:11.710 --> 00:07:13.309
It kind of evolved to that.
00:07:13.549 --> 00:07:27.789
Um the goal was to find uh, you know, a tasteful solution, uh, uh align ourselves with with companies that we feel like align with our brand values um and to maximize value.
00:07:28.110 --> 00:07:35.549
And and and uh we kind of pivoted along the way and and realized the best way to do that was to break up the sports a little bit.
00:07:35.789 --> 00:07:40.750
We still have baseball, softball, uh, which could be two different or could be one.
00:07:40.830 --> 00:07:43.710
Uh we're continuing to explore opportunities.
00:07:44.029 --> 00:07:52.190
And I think the connections behind both of those companies is also really unique because Axel Logistics is newer to the region than it was founded by UT grads.
00:07:52.269 --> 00:07:56.509
And then, like you mentioned, First Horizon Bank has been a 30-plus year partner with us.
00:07:56.669 --> 00:08:02.830
But at the bottom line, both of those partners genuinely want to invest in what we're building here at Tennessee.
00:08:02.990 --> 00:08:08.429
Why is that so important that those companies have the full picture, the full understanding of what we're doing here?
00:08:08.830 --> 00:08:10.669
I think they both believe in what we're doing.
00:08:10.750 --> 00:08:12.429
They believe in the student athlete mission.
00:08:12.509 --> 00:08:19.470
They believe that the power of an athletics department, how it can be such a powerful marketing engine for an entire institution.
00:08:19.629 --> 00:08:29.789
And uh when you think about the economic impact of our athletics department and our entire university on our local community in the entire state of Tennessee, it's pretty significant.
00:08:29.870 --> 00:08:33.950
Uh and these are two companies that care about Tennessee and care about Duvalls.
00:08:34.190 --> 00:08:39.870
Uh so it it's a it's it's a great partnership with both of them, and and uh I think one that'll continue to grow.
00:08:40.269 --> 00:08:48.429
And what do these partnerships with Tennessee allow us to be able to directly benefit the student athlete experience and our programs?
00:08:48.990 --> 00:08:50.429
Every resource matters.
00:08:50.590 --> 00:08:54.429
Uh the donations matter, ticket sales, licensing revenue.
00:08:54.509 --> 00:08:58.590
When you buy it uh a hat at at Dick Sporting Goods, that helps us too.
00:08:58.830 --> 00:09:00.990
Uh uh everything across the board.
00:09:01.230 --> 00:09:13.470
We we generate revenue uh holistically and and uh try to be as aggressive as we can um because we know how important it is, and then we invest strategically.
00:09:13.549 --> 00:09:19.309
Uh for each of our 20 sports, there are different things that may or may may or may not be more important.
00:09:19.549 --> 00:09:24.429
Uh so we don't just take it in and you know allocate it in a you know percentage way.
00:09:24.669 --> 00:09:26.189
It's it's not like that.
00:09:26.350 --> 00:09:30.350
Uh different different coaches and different programs have different needs at different times.
00:09:30.429 --> 00:09:46.509
Uh, but the bigger my wallet is to be able to uh say yes as many times as possible to our coaches and and oftentimes also help them figure out, uh especially in this uh evolving landscape, uh what things are more important now that maybe weren't as important before.
00:09:46.589 --> 00:09:48.669
Uh so uh every dollar matters.
00:09:48.909 --> 00:09:54.110
Another partnership that came to life this summer was Tennessee's return to Adidas.
00:09:54.429 --> 00:09:59.709
And you've talked before about how different this partnership is compared to other apparel deals.
00:09:59.870 --> 00:10:04.990
Now that it's officially underway, what stands out to you the most about this relationship we have so far?
00:10:05.309 --> 00:10:06.589
Loving the three strikes.
00:10:06.669 --> 00:10:10.189
And uh I was so impressed with their whole leadership team.
00:10:10.269 --> 00:10:20.189
And it's been fun for me since July to see now our fans and our community see the same things I saw when I visited them out in in Portland well over a year ago now.
00:10:20.269 --> 00:10:25.309
And I I think it's it's uh it was a great partnership for us back in the day.
00:10:25.470 --> 00:10:33.549
And uh uh we want to get back to winning more SEC and national championships, and I think they are the right brand to help us do that.
00:10:33.709 --> 00:10:40.029
They have prioritized, as you've heard me say it before, college, and within that, they've prioritized Tennessee.
00:10:40.189 --> 00:10:41.949
They understand the power of Val Nation.
00:10:42.110 --> 00:10:46.990
I think we can accomplish or help them accomplish their goals, and they can help us accomplish ours.
00:10:47.309 --> 00:10:56.750
And the way in which we launched this partnership was also really eye-catching for not only Val Nation, but for college sports fans across the country.
00:10:56.990 --> 00:11:01.149
It wasn't just a one-day here we go, and we moved on.
00:11:01.389 --> 00:11:15.470
We made it like a whole week, 10-day event for fans to get excited about the next day as to what was gonna come because we had sports from football and the basketballs, baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer, so many represented in that whole group.
00:11:15.629 --> 00:11:21.149
Why was that intentional to make it more of this event, more of this production than just checking the box?
00:11:21.470 --> 00:11:24.750
I'd expect nothing less from the best creative team in the country.
00:11:24.909 --> 00:11:25.470
You're a part of it.
00:11:25.709 --> 00:11:26.029
Yes, yes.
00:11:26.350 --> 00:11:29.069
Uh they had an awesome plan, as they do all the time.
00:11:29.149 --> 00:11:30.829
And they're they're gonna continue.
00:11:30.909 --> 00:11:34.829
Uh you and and the team are gonna continue to entertain us throughout the season.
00:11:34.990 --> 00:11:39.629
I know there's more plans that our fans haven't even heard about yet that people have been working on for months.
00:11:39.709 --> 00:11:43.789
Uh, but that that's uh uh something that that's important to us.
00:11:44.029 --> 00:11:59.789
Um and when when you spend the time and and make it a priority to to think of innovative ways to present something like an apparel uh partnership, you know, you can you can do that at a lot of different schools, but at Tennessee, the impact is so much greater.
00:11:59.949 --> 00:12:04.029
We saw the visibility and the impressions and all the social media metrics.
00:12:04.189 --> 00:12:07.549
It's it's it's unbelievable uh because of the power of our fan base.
00:12:07.949 --> 00:12:12.189
I think it's also important to note, too, that the month of July is pretty slow for us.
00:12:12.350 --> 00:12:22.189
It's when we kind of get a chance to catch our breath and fans are going on vacation, they're traveling, they're not really tuned in to what's going on, at least on social media with all of our athletic teams.
00:12:22.350 --> 00:12:27.149
However, this time there were so many conversations around what was happening.
00:12:27.230 --> 00:12:35.870
What were you learning about our fan base and the way that our fans and other sports, you know, fans across the country were engaging in what we were doing?
00:12:36.189 --> 00:12:38.750
Yeah, you know, I think I was a lot like uh our fans.
00:12:38.829 --> 00:12:42.429
I was trying to catch a fish while I was also following it all.
00:12:42.589 --> 00:12:47.149
So while they're whether they're at the beach or the lake or whatever they're doing, we were entertaining them.
00:12:47.389 --> 00:12:48.350
Yes, exactly.
00:12:48.589 --> 00:12:50.829
Now our fans, you know, got to first look at everything.
00:12:50.909 --> 00:12:56.669
They saw the new uniforms, they saw all of the apparel that they can go out and buy and really start to get excited.
00:12:56.829 --> 00:13:00.589
So, what are you most excited about with the future of this partnership with Adidas?
00:13:01.149 --> 00:13:09.309
I I I think just being with a brand and a company and and and the people involved that are like-minded.
00:13:09.549 --> 00:13:10.829
You know, they're innovative.
00:13:10.909 --> 00:13:16.189
Uh it any healthy partnership, the best partnerships, I think, constantly evolve.
00:13:16.350 --> 00:13:20.429
And uh we've already, in the short time since July, we're we're evolving.
00:13:20.589 --> 00:13:37.230
And uh how we interact in uh uniforms and future plans, uh how we interact in the NIL space, the opportunities for our student athletes, uh not only from an NIL standpoint, but also to be a part of their innovation, uh, I think is is really cool.
00:13:37.389 --> 00:13:41.629
And um we're we're we're just scratching the surface, I think, with this partnership.
00:13:41.709 --> 00:13:53.470
Aaron Powell Now we've talked about the new when it comes to our uniforms, but I also want to touch on the old because this fall in Neal and Stadium, we're gonna see Tennessee and Alabama both wearing their home uniforms.
00:13:54.029 --> 00:13:55.389
It's gonna be so awesome.
00:13:55.629 --> 00:13:58.829
Talk to me about how bringing back that tradition all came to be.
00:13:59.230 --> 00:14:01.389
Yeah, it's something that's been talked about for a while.
00:14:01.470 --> 00:14:10.189
And uh I I've seen the pictures and it's it's the it's the greatest rivalry in uh you know, the third third Saturday in October in college football.
00:14:10.350 --> 00:14:17.949
And uh I I can't wait to see it now in you know uh HD full colored on our screen.
00:14:21.629 --> 00:14:22.589
So it'll be awesome.
00:14:22.909 --> 00:14:27.230
And college athletics, you know, looks a lot different now than it did five, ten, fifteen, twenty years ago.
00:14:27.309 --> 00:14:31.789
But it's moments like these that are so rooted deeply in our sports history and tradition.
00:14:31.949 --> 00:14:38.990
Why is it so important to find those opportunities to celebrate tradition while everything around us in college athletic athletics evolves?
00:14:39.389 --> 00:14:43.149
Probably more important today than ever before because everything's changing so fast.
00:14:43.470 --> 00:14:52.269
Uh but we are, and I've said since the the day I got here, almost six years ago, as you remind me, uh but uh you know, we're a tradition-rich place.
00:14:52.509 --> 00:15:02.829
And uh we should be uh in the conversation uh uh in in any sport uh relative to you know competing at the at the top, uh, because we've been there.
00:15:02.990 --> 00:15:22.509
And uh you pick the sport, there have been times when we've uh uh you know been been uh a perennial power and uh we're getting close to positioning all 20 sports as a perennial power now, but uh uh honoring our past while innovating for the future is something we remind ourselves of every day.
00:15:22.829 --> 00:15:30.750
Another place we've seen the balance of preserving the tradition and continuing to evolve is our big and beautiful Nealan Stadium across the street.
00:15:30.829 --> 00:15:38.509
And every offseason, it feels like our fans get to be excited about something new or upgraded or improved when they come back every fall.
00:15:38.669 --> 00:15:46.429
So when you look at Nealan now compared to where it was when you first got here, what's kind of guided your approach in the transformation of our stadium?
00:15:46.829 --> 00:15:56.110
A lot of what I just talked about in terms of honoring the past and and trying to be kind of tradition rich in the ways that we also beautify the stadium.
00:15:56.269 --> 00:15:59.949
And so Tickle Plaza in that southwest corner looks awesome.
00:16:00.269 --> 00:16:25.389
And yeah, uh the champions corner, we we got the General Nealand statue there, and getting Coach Fulmer and Coach Dickey there here soon uh to honor our national championship coaches, the way we dressed up with brick, uh the the Gate 10 ramp, and uh uh uh it's been a uh a long project, but we this this chapter kind of concludes the initial$337 million investment.
00:16:25.470 --> 00:16:28.189
It's taken the last four years, I guess.
00:16:28.269 --> 00:16:33.069
And uh but every offseason, as you mentioned, we've had different elements uh added to it.
00:16:33.230 --> 00:16:39.309
Um there are some things that maybe aren't as um uh uh eye-catching, but they're more functional.
00:16:39.470 --> 00:16:41.470
You know, we Neeland Stadium didn't have a kitchen.
00:16:41.549 --> 00:16:43.309
Now we have a huge kitchen commissary.
00:16:43.470 --> 00:16:53.230
Nealand Stadium didn't have service elevators to uh uh to to you know uh facilitate getting food and uh things back and forth to all the different areas.
00:16:53.309 --> 00:16:54.110
Now we have that.
00:16:54.269 --> 00:17:00.350
Uh we're able to expand some concourses on the north and south end zones just to give some more space for our fans.
00:17:00.509 --> 00:17:12.269
Um in addition to some of the things people see more, like the North End Zone deck and the other video board, the second video board and the uh TransCard Premier Club, and I go on and on the founder suites, and it's been a long project.
00:17:12.430 --> 00:17:14.190
A lot of people have worked really hard.
00:17:14.350 --> 00:17:16.350
Um, it's an iconic building.
00:17:16.430 --> 00:17:21.549
Uh, the Cathedral of College Football, there's probably still some work that needs to be done.
00:17:21.710 --> 00:17:30.509
Uh, we're kind of out of money at this point, but always looking for ways to uh to beautify it, make it more functional, make it a better experience for our fans.
00:17:30.829 --> 00:17:40.029
And for those that were in Neeland on Saturday for the game against Furman, something that they might have heard that was also different was the new sound system that got put in.
00:17:40.190 --> 00:17:43.869
What did you think of it and seeing it in its full effect on Saturday?
00:17:44.349 --> 00:17:47.789
Well, it was expensive enough, so I was glad to see that it worked really good.
00:17:47.950 --> 00:17:54.509
It's the best sound system in the world for a stadium that size, and uh it's been proven at at some NFL stadiums.
00:17:54.589 --> 00:17:56.910
Uh, and and yeah, it it it sounded awesome.
00:17:57.149 --> 00:17:59.309
Heard great feedback from our fans as well.
00:17:59.470 --> 00:18:00.910
We needed to get that addressed.
00:18:00.990 --> 00:18:04.990
It's it's something that's been on on high on the list for the last few years.
00:18:05.309 --> 00:18:10.430
And you mentioned the champions corner as well, which is just super special with the return of General Nealand.
00:18:10.750 --> 00:18:15.629
What was the vision behind it in creating that space for our fans to go and enjoy before going into the stadium?
00:18:16.029 --> 00:18:21.389
Continuing to find ways to to lift up and celebrate the many successes we've had in our past.
00:18:21.549 --> 00:18:33.470
Uh, you know, we we did the trailblazer statues when we when I first got here uh and we had intended to do uh uh national championship coaches in that uh southwest corner.
00:18:33.629 --> 00:18:36.670
That part of the construction was the last piece to finish.
00:18:36.829 --> 00:18:42.509
Uh and we'll we'll continue to look for more ways to celebrate, you know, iconic figures.
00:18:42.589 --> 00:18:53.710
And I just think it it makes for a more rich experience when people come back to campus on game day or even not on game day to learn about our past and and take pictures and things like that.
00:18:53.869 --> 00:19:00.269
So when we do the entertainment district, we'll have a plaza uh uh uh entering that space as well.
00:19:00.349 --> 00:19:05.470
And it could be another opportunity to lift up some uh fun, exciting memories for people.
00:19:06.109 --> 00:19:16.349
Now I might be getting ahead of myself here, but is there anything else on your wish list or things that you're hoping to maybe tackle or dive into in the near off season 2027?
00:19:16.829 --> 00:19:18.269
There's a long list.
00:19:18.509 --> 00:19:20.190
Uh, where do I begin?
00:19:20.430 --> 00:19:22.589
Yeah, we we still have some capital projects.
00:19:22.670 --> 00:19:24.190
We still need an indoor track.
00:19:24.269 --> 00:19:29.389
Uh we we could need an uh indoor facility for softball and and for baseball.
00:19:29.549 --> 00:19:31.230
Uh the top programs have those.
00:19:31.309 --> 00:19:33.549
We're working on those things all the time.
00:19:33.710 --> 00:19:39.230
Uh our major gift team is having uh conversations with people to try to facilitate those projects.
00:19:39.309 --> 00:19:43.470
Uh Nealand Stadium still has uh uh things that need to be improved.
00:19:43.629 --> 00:19:51.230
The East Concourse uh in particular, uh as great as the South Concourse is, uh expansion on level one.
00:19:51.389 --> 00:19:54.029
We we haven't been able to do enough on two and three.
00:19:54.109 --> 00:19:56.670
We've done some on three this year.
00:19:56.829 --> 00:19:59.389
Uh so there's still more work to do in Nealand.
00:19:59.549 --> 00:20:02.670
We have 29,400 accounts on a waiting list.
00:20:02.750 --> 00:20:04.829
We averaged three and a half tickets in account.
00:20:05.069 --> 00:20:05.389
Wow.
00:20:05.549 --> 00:20:10.829
Uh so if we could find a way to get more seats in that building, they'd be sold immediately.
00:20:10.910 --> 00:20:14.509
Uh and I I know people want to get in, I know more students want to come.
00:20:14.829 --> 00:20:18.670
Uh so there's there's a lot to be be considered there as well.
00:20:18.910 --> 00:20:26.349
Really excited about the entertainment district, the hotel, uh, the condo uh uh opportunity for for our our community.
00:20:26.509 --> 00:20:33.789
I think that'll lift up not just our game day, but our campus environment throughout the year and the whole Knoxville community.
00:20:33.950 --> 00:20:38.029
Uh so there there's there's a whole lot I could go on for probably an hour.
00:20:38.269 --> 00:20:38.910
There's more than that.
00:20:39.230 --> 00:20:40.349
How much time do we got here?
00:20:40.430 --> 00:20:46.430
Um well you talk about the future of the entire campus and Knoxville when you bring up the Nealan Entertainment District.
00:20:46.589 --> 00:20:52.430
When this project is eventually complete, what do you hope it adds to the experience of coming to Rocky Top?
00:20:52.750 --> 00:21:02.589
Yeah, I think it'll you know I hear the stories of uh what Cumberland was before from a student experience standpoint, not just on a game day on a random Tuesday night.
00:21:02.750 --> 00:21:11.149
Your parents are coming in town, you want a nice place to go out to dinner, and not that there aren't places there, but they're not as many as there used to be, uh, which in a lot of ways is a good thing.
00:21:11.309 --> 00:21:14.109
All that housing, the the university is growing so much.
00:21:14.269 --> 00:21:16.029
We're 41,000 students now.
00:21:16.190 --> 00:21:19.149
I think it was 30 when I got here, and I hadn't been here that long.
00:21:19.309 --> 00:21:25.789
Uh so uh uh it's it's progress, it's continuing to uh to to uh evolve.
00:21:25.869 --> 00:21:31.549
And um I I think the the social aspect of that for a UT student will be great.
00:21:32.029 --> 00:21:38.269
Um uh the ability for staff uh and students to go to lunch there and things of that nature.
00:21:38.349 --> 00:21:41.309
Uh game day, it'll be absolutely electric.
00:21:41.549 --> 00:21:41.789
Yeah.
00:21:41.950 --> 00:21:47.629
Uh it's been a proven model that way in professional sports, uh, but not just football games.
00:21:47.789 --> 00:21:56.109
Every single time the vols play, it will be a landing spot for people, you know, to grab dinner before or after a game, uh, concerts, all those things.
00:21:56.269 --> 00:22:08.190
And then all the boaters are excited in our community because they're telling me uh uh about boating destinations and uh uh uh the opportunity for you know outdoor concerts and things in the summer.
00:22:08.349 --> 00:22:11.789
Uh so it'll be a uh a unique uh asset for the Knoxville community.
00:22:12.109 --> 00:22:19.149
Well, that's what I was gonna emphasize was this point that it's bigger than just a couple Saturdays in the fall for our game days and fans.
00:22:19.230 --> 00:22:24.829
It's the Knoxville community that will be able to benefit from this and be able to experience it to its full effect, like you're kind of mentioned.
00:22:25.149 --> 00:22:31.309
Yeah, we probably have a hundred and thirty, one hundred and forty thousand people on our campus tailgating, only Two can come in the stadium.
00:22:32.509 --> 00:22:34.910
We don't need an entertainment district for it.
00:22:34.990 --> 00:22:37.629
I don't know if three, four, five thousand people will be in there.
00:22:37.789 --> 00:22:40.029
It'll be awesome for the people that are in there on game day.
00:22:40.109 --> 00:22:40.269
Yeah.
00:22:40.589 --> 00:22:42.509
But the project is much bigger than game day.
00:22:42.990 --> 00:22:50.750
And as you are building something, you know, completely new around Nealan, how do you modernize it, but also kind of keeping what makes it special, special?
00:22:51.149 --> 00:22:52.829
It it's a give and take.
00:22:52.990 --> 00:22:54.750
We talk about that all the time.
00:22:54.829 --> 00:23:04.670
Uh in with our creative team is always thinking about that with respect to uh uniform designs and all the different creative stuff we do.
00:23:04.750 --> 00:23:11.389
Uh and we we talk about that from a strategy standpoint, uh, our game day presentation.
00:23:11.549 --> 00:23:13.149
Uh we want to be innovative.
00:23:13.230 --> 00:23:22.109
We want to lead the way in college sports, uh, but we also understand we have a deep responsibility to honor uh our our traditions, honor our past.
00:23:22.509 --> 00:23:29.789
Well, let's talk a little bit of logistics here for one second, because one thing fans are gonna definitely notice uh this season is the loss of G10.
00:23:29.869 --> 00:23:39.309
But with a short-term loss like that, it makes way for something larger and better with a more modern garage next year, with the emphasis on improving fans coming in and out of campus.
00:23:39.549 --> 00:23:46.109
How will the project ultimately improve this experience um once it is complete for those coming onto campus for a game day?
00:23:46.430 --> 00:23:53.470
Yeah, it it it'll so everything below the entertainment district uh will be a much better experience.
00:23:53.869 --> 00:24:00.910
Uh the G10 garage was not built for events, it was built as a commuter garage, and uh it was kind of falling apart.
00:24:00.990 --> 00:24:04.029
We had issues with concrete was falling on cars.
00:24:04.190 --> 00:24:08.589
Uh it's an old uh facility, and so we're able to replace two-thirds of it.
00:24:08.750 --> 00:24:12.750
That other third closer to closest to the arena needs to be replaced at some point.
00:24:12.829 --> 00:24:13.789
It's aging.
00:24:14.029 --> 00:24:22.430
Uh, but the new uh garage will be you know, technology telling you where open spaces are, well lit, designed for an events.
00:24:22.750 --> 00:24:27.950
So ingress and egress should be a lot more efficient than what our fans are experiencing now.
00:24:28.190 --> 00:24:30.670
Uh uh and uh more spaces.
00:24:30.829 --> 00:24:35.389
Uh uh not a huge amount, but but I think it's a couple hundred more spaces.
00:24:35.549 --> 00:24:47.230
Uh so like anything, you you can't you can't improve Nealand Stadium without going through a little bit of the uh the dust and the uh uh uh inconveniences of Capital Projects.
00:24:47.309 --> 00:24:50.829
Uh same with Lindsay Nelson Stadium and and uh across the board.
00:24:50.990 --> 00:24:56.029
Uh but we're working with a really good group and experienced the 865 group.
00:24:56.190 --> 00:25:00.750
Uh they've they've turned around projects and put up parking garages really quickly.
00:25:00.910 --> 00:25:10.349
Uh so uh I'm confident that we'll be back up and running uh as as quick as possible uh and get uh get folks their parking space back.
00:25:10.509 --> 00:25:16.509
But asking folks to uh uh with respect to game days, it there's six Saturdays left.
00:25:16.670 --> 00:25:16.829
Yes.
00:25:17.149 --> 00:25:24.109
Uh where we you won't have a uh a G10 garage, but uh the the future is gonna be awesome.
00:25:24.430 --> 00:25:25.629
Yeah, we'll all get through together.
00:25:25.710 --> 00:25:25.869
Yeah.
00:25:26.029 --> 00:25:33.069
Uh you also had Kimley Horn conduct an off-season traffic study, and fans are starting to see that new traffic flow uh now as a result.
00:25:33.230 --> 00:25:41.309
What did you learn from that study and what can fans expect and maybe what should they know before they come onto campus for a game day for the rest of the season?
00:25:41.629 --> 00:25:50.829
Yeah, uh uh uh you know one of the leaders nationally, a group out of Kim uh Kimley Horn out of Nashville, uh they've been on our campus for the last year.
00:25:50.990 --> 00:26:00.829
We've had drones flying, studying traffic patterns with respect to football and basketball uh and concerts to understand with this really tight, unique footprint.
00:26:00.910 --> 00:26:03.389
Our footprint is what makes everything here awesome.
00:26:03.629 --> 00:26:05.869
You know, our facilities are so close to each other.
00:26:06.029 --> 00:26:08.029
We have the river, it's all great.
00:26:08.509 --> 00:26:12.430
Uh, but getting 100,000 people in and out is hard, really hard.
00:26:12.670 --> 00:26:12.829
Right.
00:26:13.069 --> 00:26:18.589
Uh particularly when you add in the element of security screening, which we just started in 2021.
00:26:18.670 --> 00:26:25.629
Uh and uh the SEC voted to to move toward that in 2019, uh, and then COVID happened.
00:26:25.789 --> 00:26:33.470
And uh we all know that having security is an important thing at an event with that many people, uh, but it creates a lot of complications.
00:26:33.549 --> 00:26:42.190
So they've been a great partner, uh, as has UT Police, uh Knox County, Knox City, uh our athletics event staff.
00:26:42.269 --> 00:26:44.349
Uh we've had great support on campus.
00:26:44.509 --> 00:26:49.789
It's it's a complicated endeavor, but I I feel like we have a really uh good plan.
00:26:50.269 --> 00:26:56.029
Uh uh we have a lot more lanes going, uh, as they call it, contra flow is a term I've learned.
00:26:56.269 --> 00:26:56.430
Okay.
00:26:56.670 --> 00:27:02.509
So multiple lanes, three lanes going west on Nealand post-game, two lanes going west on Cumberland post-game.
00:27:02.670 --> 00:27:04.670
Uh that that wasn't happening before.
00:27:04.829 --> 00:27:09.549
I think we have a plan, and the goal is to get campus empty uh within an hour after kick.
00:27:09.789 --> 00:27:11.149
And that's hard to do.
00:27:11.309 --> 00:27:21.789
Uh, but uh what's really important, and I've I've said this a bunch, and I'm gonna say it right now, for fans, when you get your parking pass, we're telling you the way to come and the way to go.
00:27:21.950 --> 00:27:28.029
And that might be different than how you normally come to campus or or or go back home, but there's a reason behind it.
00:27:28.109 --> 00:27:32.509
Uh, and it will be the most efficient and best way for for you for you to get home after the game.
00:27:32.750 --> 00:27:45.389
When you take a step back and you think of everything that we've kind of talked about from you know, jersey patches, partnerships, the stadium, everything around the stadium, so much has changed since when you first arrived.
00:27:45.549 --> 00:27:52.029
What maybe are you most proud of that people might not know, or that doesn't necessarily show up on the scoreboard?
00:27:52.430 --> 00:27:54.589
I think the culture we have in our building.
00:27:54.670 --> 00:28:00.509
Uh, one of the first things we did as just an example, Smokey's our nutrition center, was football only.
00:28:00.670 --> 00:28:10.829
And uh, I think my first month here, we said, no, we're gonna have all sports and we're gonna be intentional about creating a culture of uh serious-minded, competitive men and women.
00:28:10.910 --> 00:28:16.670
We have 450 student athletes from 20 different sports, and they need to make winning decisions every day.
00:28:16.910 --> 00:28:24.910
And that's uh, I think the biggest reason we've had our best in the aggregate, we've had our best competitive window in the history of Tennessee athletics.
00:28:24.990 --> 00:28:26.829
We've won three SEC All Sports Cups.
00:28:26.910 --> 00:28:28.190
We had never done that before.
00:28:28.349 --> 00:28:32.109
The national all sports standings, we've been higher than we've ever been before.
00:28:32.190 --> 00:28:35.629
I think we've had our three highest, uh, and we're not satisfied.
00:28:35.789 --> 00:28:36.910
We we want more.
00:28:37.149 --> 00:28:55.470
Uh, but uh uh for them to not just have lunch and breakfast together, but uh interact with each other, support each other, uh, make the most of themselves as a person, as a student, as an athlete, um, has allowed uh the kind of results we've had, and and and I expect even better results as we continue to go.
00:28:55.710 --> 00:28:57.069
And it's not just competitive.
00:28:57.230 --> 00:29:01.470
We've also had our highest marks in the classroom in the history of Tennessee athletics.
00:29:01.549 --> 00:29:06.349
We've had seven straight semesters where every single team GPA was over a 3.0.
00:29:06.509 --> 00:29:08.109
That had never happened before.
00:29:08.349 --> 00:29:14.029
I feel strongly that there's a there's a correlation between competitive and academic success.
00:29:14.190 --> 00:29:20.829
Because again, it comes back to those winning decisions and your peer group helping you make the the right decisions every single day.
00:29:21.149 --> 00:29:33.069
And then you even have someone like a VFL with Jamai May Shack coming back to Rocky Top and partnering with local communities here that he did while he was in school and while he's a professional, making sure that it's a point in his life to do that.
00:29:33.230 --> 00:29:42.670
So to your point, it's not just what's happening on the field or in the classroom or in the community, it's across the board that's important for all of us here with the culture that we have here at Tennessee.
00:29:42.990 --> 00:29:43.389
No question.
00:29:44.190 --> 00:29:45.069
It's across the board.
00:29:45.149 --> 00:29:51.950
Our athletes understand the platform and the privilege they have to represent this university and this fan base.
00:29:52.269 --> 00:29:52.349
Yeah.
00:29:52.589 --> 00:30:01.950
Finally, now that we have another athletic season at Tennessee here upon us, what are you most looking forward to as this 2026-27 year is already up and running?
00:30:02.269 --> 00:30:03.710
I think it's gonna be a monster year.
00:30:03.789 --> 00:30:06.910
I I feel really good about where we are across the board.
00:30:07.069 --> 00:30:11.950
Um, I think we're gonna we're gonna see a ton of uh uh wins.
00:30:12.109 --> 00:30:12.190
Yeah.
00:30:12.509 --> 00:30:14.589
I think we're gonna see teams compete for championships.
00:30:14.750 --> 00:30:16.509
I think we're gonna win championships.
00:30:16.750 --> 00:30:23.710
Uh I I think uh all 20 of our sports are really positioned well to be a player uh in the SEC and on the national stage.
00:30:24.029 --> 00:30:26.670
Well, Athletic Director Danny White, thank you so much for the time.
00:30:26.750 --> 00:30:32.509
We know that you are super busy, so we will let you get back to all that you have, making everything here run so smoothly for us.
00:30:32.589 --> 00:30:37.389
And we appreciate you and all that you do, and we can't wait to see you at some of the games here this fall.
00:30:37.710 --> 00:30:38.190
Let's go.
00:30:38.349 --> 00:30:41.470
Let's uh but what what what does uh our football staff say?
00:30:41.549 --> 00:30:42.670
Uh snap the ball, right?
00:30:42.829 --> 00:30:43.389
Snap the ball.
00:30:43.710 --> 00:30:44.190
Yes, exactly.
00:30:44.269 --> 00:30:44.829
It's time to go.
00:30:45.149 --> 00:30:45.869
It's time to go.
00:30:46.349 --> 00:30:47.389
Let's get on it.
00:30:47.710 --> 00:30:48.349
Thank you so much.
00:30:48.670 --> 00:30:49.149
All right, thank you.
00:30:49.309 --> 00:30:54.750
Thanks so much, y'all, for tuning in to this episode of Everything Orange, as athletic director Danny White said.
00:30:54.829 --> 00:30:59.389
There are so many exciting things to look forward to this season here on Rocky Top.
00:30:59.710 --> 00:31:05.470
So make sure you stay up to date by checking out utsports.com and following us on all of our social platforms.
00:31:05.710 --> 00:31:06.190
Thanks so much.
00:31:06.349 --> 00:31:07.149
We'll see you next week.
00:31:07.309 --> 00:31:07.869
Bye y'all.
