KNOXVILLE—The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, welcomes fans to campus Saturday.
Kickoff for the Volunteers’s game against the Gamecocks of the University of South Carolina is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. (ET). Gates open at 5:15 p.m. ESPN-2 will televise the game.
Fans are encouraged to follow @UTGameday on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates on traffic, weather, gate info, and game day events, such as the Vol Walk.
Game Day Activities
The traditional Vol Walk will start at 5:00 p.m., on Volunteer Boulevard near Circle Park and will proceed down Volunteer Boulevard to the Torchbearer statue, then down Peyton Manning Pass, then turn left onto Phillip Fulmer Way and enter the stadium.
The Pride of the Southland Marching Band will begin marching at 5:35 p.m., near the Rock on Volunteer Boulevard, march past the Torchbearer statue, then turn right onto Andy Holt Avenue, then right onto Phillip Fulmer Way. The band will briefly pause in front of the new amphitheater for their traditional salute to the Hill, then continue to the stadium.
The UT Institute of Agriculture will hold its annual Ag Day on Saturday, beginning four hours prior to kickoff. This year’s theme is “New Places, New Faces.” Some of the newest leaders of the Institute of Agriculture, including Chancellor Larry Arrington and John Stier, assistant dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, will be on hand to greet the public.
Ag Day visitors also will have a chance to see the Brehm Animal Sciences and Food Science and Technology buildings, set for completion in spring 2012. Fans can enjoy live music, free ice cream and popcorn, an insect petting zoo, walking tours of the UT Gardens, and an opportunity to tour “Living Light,” UT’s nationally recognized solar house.
Fans also can attend the College of Arts and Sciences’s Pregame Showcase, now in its twenty-second year. Held two hours before each home game kickoff in the University Center Ballroom, the showcase is a free thirty-minute presentation by a UT faculty member. This week, at 5:15 p.m., Tom Burman, professor and head of the Department of History, will discuss “Christians’ Reaction to the Koran in History.”
From 3:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., the Volunteer Village commercial display area will be open on the lawn of the Humanities and Social Sciences Building. Pregame festivities will be available for fans of all ages, including interactive inflatable games, live bands, appearances from Smokey, Junior Smokey, cheerleaders, and the dance team.
Stadium Security
University officials are advising fans to avoid purchasing “print-at-home” game tickets from vendors outside the stadium. These tickets feature unique bar codes that are good for only one use, but are easily photocopied and resold multiple times, resulting in unusable counterfeit tickets. In addition, there have been issues this season with counterfeit tickets in general, so fans should know the source of any ticket prior to purchase.
With Halloween taking place two days after the game, university and law enforcement authorities are reminding fans that a Knoxville city ordinance prohibits the wearing of masks in public places, including Neyland Stadium. Officials have announced the following additional security measures for the game:
- Fans wearing Halloween costumes will be allowed to enter the stadium, but will be searched to ensure that no prohibited items enter the stadium;
- No masks of any kind will be permitted, and will be confiscated if discovered, although face painting is allowed;
- Masks cannot be stored at any stadium gate;
- No props (including toy guns, swords or any simulated weapon) or artificial noisemakers will be permitted inside the stadium; and
- No banners, posters or signs larger than standard letter-size paper will be permitted.
UT reminds visitors that all items, including purses, are subject to search at the gates. 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; and
- weapons of any kind, including pocketknives.
This year, bags larger than twelve inches by twelve inches by twelve inches cannot be brought into the stadium. This is the standard in use by the National Football League and by a growing number of collegiate sports facilities. Items larger than this standard size, as well as other prohibited items, cannot be stored at any stadium gate. To assist fans, boxes demonstrating the proper bag size will be placed at stadium gates and bus loading areas. This should help fans determine if their bags are too large to be allowed into the stadium.
Fans can bring the following items inside the stadium, provided they meet the size requirement:
- cushions and seats without arms;
- small diaper bags that accompany infants; and
- small cameras, pagers, cell phones and binoculars.
Under state law, no smoking will be allowed anywhere inside the gates of Neyland Stadium. Fans cannot leave the stadium and 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 three-nautical-mile radius and lower than 3,000 feet in altitude, except as authorized by air traffic control.
Solicitation near stadium gates and along Phillip Fulmer Way is prohibited.
Parking and Road Closures
Only fans with permits can park on campus. UT encourages all fans to use shuttle buses from the university’s Kingston Pike building, the Knoxville Civic Coliseum, the Old City and Market Square areas of downtown Knoxville and Farragut High School. 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.
At 5:00 p.m., Phillip Fulmer Way, from Andy Holt Avenue to Peyton Manning Pass, will be closed to vehicle traffic for the duration of the game. At 6:45 p.m., Peyton Manning Pass, Middle and Lower Drives, and Estabrook Drive will be closed. Directional parking will be used in Area 9 and Lots 4, 5A and 5B. Chamique Holdsclaw Drive from Lake Loudoun Boulevard to Pat Head Summitt Street is closed for the entire season.
For more information on game day parking, including a map of campus parking areas, visit http://web.utk.edu/~pso/maps.html.
Season tickets and select individual game tickets are available at 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)