KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, welcomes fans to campus Saturday for the Volunteers’ game against the Bobcats of Ohio University.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT. Neyland Stadium gates open at 5 p.m. The game will be televised on VideoSeat pay-per-view.
The traditional Vol Walk will begin at 5:15 p.m. at the Torchbearer statue on Volunteer Boulevard, then proceed down Peyton Manning Pass, then left onto Phillip Fulmer Way.
The Pride of the Southland Marching Band will once again start in front of the music building this week. The march will begin at 5:20 p.m. and proceed along Volunteer Boulevard to Andy Holt Avenue and then on to the stadium.
“We received feedback from fans asking for the band march to return to Volunteer Boulevard, so we moved it back,” said Jeff Maples, UT Knoxville senior associate vice chancellor for finance and administration. “Game-day events like these are for the enjoyment of the fans, and we are always open to making their experience even better.”
The UT Pep Band will begin performing in front of the Hearing and Speech Center on Phillip Fulmer Way at 4:45 p.m. The Volunteer Village commercial exhibition area will be open on the Humanities Plaza lawn from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Fans also can attend the College of Arts and Sciences’ Pregame Faculty Showcase, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Held two hours before each home game kickoff in the University Center Ballroom, the showcase is a free 30-minute presentation by a UT faculty member, followed by a 15-minute question-and-answer session. This week, Aleydis Van De Moortel, associate professor in the classics department, will discuss her archaeological research in the Mediterranean in “UT Digs Greece: New Light on the Bronze Age.”
The Red Cross will be accepting donations before the game.
During the Vol Walk and the band march, fans should enter the campus from Lake Loudoun Boulevard, Joe Johnson Drive or the western end of Volunteer Boulevard at Cumberland Avenue and avoid the entrances on the north and east sides of the campus. In addition, permit holders in Lot 9 should arrive two hours prior to kickoff in order to avoid traffic and pedestrian congestion. If this is not possible, Lot 9 permit holders will need to access the parking lot via Volunteer Boulevard and Andy Holt Avenue prior to the Vol Walk (5 – 5:20 p.m.). Also, Lot 9 permit holders may use Volunteer Boulevard to Peyton Manning Pass during the band march (5:25 – 5:35 p.m.).
Only fans with permits can park on campus. UT encourages fans to use shuttle buses from the Knoxville Civic Coliseum, the Old City area of downtown Knoxville, and Farragut High School in west Knoxville. Limited public handicapped parking spaces and handicapped shuttle service to the stadium are available on the UT Agriculture Campus, off Neyland Drive.
Many area hotels also offer shuttle service to the game. Check with your hotel’s management for details.
Tennessee Department of Transportation overhead signs and radio broadcasts will advise motorists which interstate exits to take to arrive on campus. The signs also will advise through-traffic on Interstates 40 and 75 to take the I-640 bypass around downtown Knoxville.
UT reminds visitors that all items, including purses, are subject to search at the gates. Certain items remain prohibited inside the stadium, and those items cannot be stored at any stadium gate.
Prohibited items include the following:
- alcoholic beverages, cans, bottles or coolers
- radios without headphones
- open umbrellas
- video cameras
- stadium seats with arms
- large bags or parcels, including backpacks and large purses
- weapons of any kind, including pocketknives
Fans are allowed to bring the following items inside the stadium:
- cushions and seats without arms
- diaper bags that accompany infants
- small cameras, pagers, cell phones and binoculars
In an effort to reduce wait times, the university is offering express entry lanes at Gates 10 and 21. Those fans with no items subject to search may utilize the express lanes for quicker access to the stadium.
Under state law, no smoking will be allowed anywhere inside the gates of Neyland Stadium. Those fans violating the no-smoking regulation may be escorted out of the stadium. No one inside the gates will be allowed to leave and then be re-admitted.
A no-fly zone extends over the stadium from one hour before the game until one hour after it ends, prohibiting flights within a 3-nautical-mile radius and lower than 3,000-feet altitude, except as authorized by air traffic control.
For those driving on campus, Peyton Manning Pass, Middle and Lower Drives, Estabrook Drive and Phillip Fulmer Way from Middle Drive to Tee Martin Drive will be closed 30 minutes before kickoff. Directional parking will be used in Area 9 and Lots 4, 5A and 5B.
Tickets for the game are available by visiting http://www.uttix.com.
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C O N T A C T :
Jeff Maples (865-974-3061, maples@utk.edu)
Brian Browning (865-974-3061, brian-browning@utk.edu)
Charles Primm (865-974-5180, charles.primm@tennessee.edu)