KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, welcomes football fans and alumni to campus Saturday for Homecoming.
Kickoff for the Volunteers’ game against the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State University is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. Fox Sports Network 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 4:45 p.m. on Volunteer Boulevard near Circle Park. It will proceed down Volunteer Boulevard to the Torchbearer statue, down Peyton Manning Pass, left onto Phillip Fulmer Way, and enter the stadium.
The Pride of the Southland Marching Band, joined by the UT Alumni Band, will begin marching at 5:20 p.m. near the Rock on Volunteer Boulevard, march past the Torchbearer statue, turn right onto Andy Holt Avenue, and 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.
Fans can attend the College of Arts and Sciences’ 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 5:00 p.m., Casey Sams, associate professor in the Department of Theatre, will discuss “Creating Choreography for the Clarence Brown Stage.”
From 3:30 to 6:30 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 and live bands, as well as appearances from Smokey, Junior Smokey, cheerleaders, and the dance team.
Homecoming Events
Homecoming will be celebrated across campus, with many colleges and academic departments hosting gatherings for their alumni and student organizations, engaging in relays and challenges that highlight UT spirit.
At 4:00 p.m. Friday, the Homecoming Parade, with Grand Marshal Condredge Holloway, begins at the Rock and will travel east on Volunteer Boulevard toward Neyland Stadium. Alumni groups celebrating reunions will participate, along with young children dressed in their finest orange and white outfits. Following the parade, the annual Smokey’s Howl cheer competition will be held at Tom Black Track.
Party in the Park, a large tailgate, will be held in Circle Park starting at 4:00 p.m. Saturday. Members of the pep band and cheerleading squad will be on hand as fans enjoy music, door prizes, face painting, and games for kids. The event is free and open to the public. Attendees can even take part in helping eat the world’s largest MoonPie, to be cut at 5:00 p.m.
For more information on Homecoming events, visit https://news.utk.edu/2011/10/31/homecoming-clash-tennesseans.
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.
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 12 inches by 12 inches by 12 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 3-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 4:45 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 6:30 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.
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)