The Power T

The Power T is the official logo of the University of Tennessee.

The first appearance of the "T" came in 1964, when head football coach Doug Dickey replaced the familiar numbers on the side of the Volunteers' football helmets with a block T for the first time.

The Power T received a slight makeover in 1977, taking on a bolder, more powerful look under first-year head football coach and legendary Tennessee tailback Johnny Majors. That logo would go on to become the worldwide symbol for the Tennessee Volunteers.

Most recently, the Power T was slightly modified in 2015, when it also became the primary mark for the entire University of Tennessee Knoxville campus.

The Volunteer Nickname

As the land grand university for the state of Tennessee, UT adopted the state's moniker of "The Volunteer State" for its athletic teams.

The history of the "The Volunteer State" began with the War of 1812, when Gen. Andrew Jackson led more than 1,500 soldiers from his home state to fight for the United States at the Battle of New Orleans.

The name truly took hold during the Mexican-American war, when President James K. Polk, another native son, made an appeal for 2,600 nationwide volunteers at the beginning of the conflict that resulted in more than 30,000 soldiers from his home state alone.

As long as teams have represented UT on the field, those squads have carried on the name and tradition of the original Tennessee Volunteers.

Upon formation of the Women's Intercollegiate Athletics Department in 1976, Tennessee's female student-athletes were known as the Lady Volunteers. This tradition lives on to present day with UT women's teams, including the eight-time national champion women's basketball program, still proudly bearing the Lady Volunteers name and logo.

To learn more, read The Legend of the Volunteer.

The Orange & White

Tennessee's orange and white colors were selected by Charles Moore, a member of the university's first football team, in 1891. They were later approved by a student body vote.

The colors were those of the common American daisy, a flower that grew prominently on The Hill, the area of campus that surrounds iconic Ayres Hall and overlooks Neyland Stadium.

Tennessee football players did not wear orange jerseys until the season-opening game in 1922. Coach M.B. Banks' Vols christened the orange jerseys on Sept. 23, 1922, with a 50-0 victory over Emory & Henry.

The Lady Vols Logo & Summitt Blue

As the final federal Title IX regulations were signed by U.S. President Gerald Ford in May of 1975, University of Tennessee Chancellor Dr. Jack Reese appointed a Task Force on Women’s Athletics. The group presented its final report, which included 17 specific recommendations, to Reese on April 1, 1976. The task force’s data gave the UT administration the direction it needed and prompted Reese’s staff and UT President Dr. Edward J. Boling’s staff later that summer to establish the Department of Women’s Intercollegiate Athletics as a single, freestanding unit, separate from the men’s program and reporting to the vice chancellor for Student Affairs.

Women’s intercollegiate athletic programs are making great strides, but the hurdles have been high and the progress slow... funding is “minimal” according to the chancellor’s task force report and needs to be beefed up if there is to be further improvement and expansion... University funds constitute the bulk of the women’s athletic budget. However, the UT [men’s] Athletic Department... is contributing $20,000 to the women’s budget for 1977... women athletes are receiving scholarships for the first time this fall. The money is only approximately one tenth of what is available to the men because, proportionately, there are fewer women athletes. These scholarships are a step in the right direction, but many more are needed to make up for the lack of them in the past... The fight goes on. The fight for comparable training and housing facilities, medical care and scholarships is far from won... Despite the obstacles, things are looking up for the female athletes at UT and around the country... Women’s athletic programs need university funding if they are to exist at all. After years of discrimination, they deserve it.
UT Daily Beacon - July 9, 1976

The decision to move women’s athletics from the College of Education to a business model fashioned after the men’s program compelled Dr. Nancy Lay to relinquish her administrative duties of directing the women’s sports programs; Lay had concerns that a business-minded approach would adversely affect educational values. Former UT graduate assistant Gloria Ray, who at that time was working at the Mississippi University for Women, emerged from a pool of more than 50 applicants as Tennessee’s first director of women’s athletics, effective Aug. 9, 1976. Ray reported directly to Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Dr. Howard F. Aldmon.

With $25,000 appropriated for scholarships by the UT Board of Trustees at its January 1976 meeting, a $20,000 donation from the men’s athletics department and additional funding sources in place (such as student activities fees), women’s athletics began 1977 with an approved budget of $126,000. The fall of that 1976-77 academic year began with UT sponsoring seven sports—basketball, field hockey, gymnastics, swimming, tennis, track & field and volleyball.

In August of 1976, Ray, women’s basketball head coach Pat Summitt, women’s track & field head coach Terry Hull (Crawford) and women’s basketball alum Joy Scruggs gathered around a table at the now-defunct Old College Inn on Cumberland Avenue near the University of Tennessee campus to sketch a new logo for UT’s women’s teams. Their initial sketch, on a napkin, of the words “Lady Volunteers” in overlaid on a hollowed-out T was later developed into the now-iconic Lady Vols logo, featuring a distinct shade of blue, by local graphic artist Ted Williams.

In 2022, which marked the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Tennessee Athletics’ updated brand standards renamed the blue accent color historically associated with the Lady Vols as “Summitt Blue,” in honor of the late worldwide coaching icon Summitt, who guided the Lady Vols basketball program to eight national championships.

The first version of the Lady Vols’ blue accent color appeared in 1968 when then-women’s basketball coach Joan Cronan (who later served 29 years as UT’s women’s athletics director) set out to obtain jerseys for the women’s basketball team. At the time, no company offered an orange uniform, so Cronan opted for Columbia blue uniforms with orange lettering when the Lady Vols played at home. Later, when orange uniforms became available, Tennessee’s women switched to the traditional orange jerseys, but a touch of blue has since remained.

Blue also has appeared on Tennessee men’s uniforms in the past, as the men’s basketball program used a deeper shade of blue as an accent color on its jerseys during the head coaching tenure of Ray Mears in the 1960s.

NOTE: Portions of this section originated in Debby Schriver’s book, In the Footsteps of Champions: The University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers, the First Three Decades.
 

Smokey

One of the most beloved figures in the state, Smokey is famous for leading the Vols out of the giant "T" formed on Shields-Watkins Field by the Pride of the Southland Marching Band prior to each home game.

The University of Tennessee Pep Club held a contest in 1953 to select a coonhound, a breed native to the state, as the school's live mascot. Announcements of the contest in local newspapers read, "This can't be an ordinary hound. He must be a 'Houn' Dog' in the best sense of the word."

The late Rev. Bill Brooks entered his prize-winning bluetick coonhound, "Brooks' Blue Smokey," in the contest. At halftime of the Mississippi State game that season, the dogs were lined up on the old cheerleaders' ramp at Shields-Watkins Field. Each dog was introduced over the loudspeaker and the student body cheered for their favorite, with "Blue Smokey" being the last hound introduced. When his name was called, he barked. The students cheered and Smokey threw his head back and barked again. This kept going until the stadium was in an uproar and UT had found its mascot.

Rev. Brooks supplied UT with the line of canines until his death in 1986, when his wife, Mildred, took over the caretaking role. She did so until 1994, when her brother and sister-in-law, Earl and Martha Hudson of Knoxville, took over responsibility for Smokey VII and eventually Smokey VIII, Smokey IX—and now Smokey X—carrying on the banner of the Smokey lineage. Earl Hudson passed away in June of 2017. The Hudson's son and daughter-in-law, Charles and Cindy Hudson, now continue the family tradition of providing the University of Tennessee with its living mascot for future generations of Big Orange fans to enjoy.

Smokey II was dognapped by Kentucky students in 1955 and later survived a confrontation with the Baylor Bear at the 1957 Sugar Bowl. Smokey III compiled a 105-39-5 record and two SEC championships. Smokey VI, who suffered heat exhaustion in the 140-degree temperatures at the 1991 UCLA game, was listed on the Vols' injury report until he returned later in the season. Tennessee captured three SEC football championships during his eight-year tenure. Smokey VIII is the winningest Smokey, having compiled a record of 91-22 (.805), with two SEC titles and the 1998 national championship.

After the retirement of Smokey IX following the 2012 season, the newest Smokey returned the lineage of the mascot to the state of Tennessee. Born in Shelbyville, Smokey X made his debut in the fall of 2013.

In March of 2019, the bluetick coonhound was designated as the official state dog of Tennessee. That bill can be viewed here.

Running Through the T

It is routinely listed as one of the greatest entrances in all of sports. This great tradition was born from the minds of two of the greatest innovators that the University of Tennessee has ever had on campus. And every time the Tennessee Volunteers burst through the "T" made up of 300+ members of the Pride of the Southland Marching Band, the aura of excitement can be felt in the fall air.

In 1965, the two innovators, head football coach Doug Dickey and band director Dr. W. J. Julian, came together to create a unique entrance for the Volunteers.

In the four years since he had taken over the marching band program in 1961, Julian had also made sweeping changes to the program, including moving its oversight from the ROTC program to the College of Education. The band had grown to more than 140 members and had taken on a less militaristic look in its uniforms, but the marching precision that was originally born under the ROTC tradition remained. Julian introduced the legendary "Circle Drill" routine, one of the most difficult and unique marching band routines in the country.

For the 1965 season, Dickey moved the Volunteers from the east sideline, next to the home locker room in East Stadium Hall, to the west side, which allowed the team to enter the field through the giant "T" formation that he and Julian had drawn up. To say the formation caught on would be an understatement.

The route of the "T" shifted 90 degrees when Neyland Stadium's lower bowl was enclosed in 1980 and the team dressing room moved to the new addition in the north end zone, where the "T" began to originate. The team made the right-hand turn to the west sideline until the early 1990s, when an SEC rule change moved the home bench to the east sideline in front of the Tennessee student section. An adjustment to student seating was made in 2010, moving the Volunteers back to the west sideline for that season, and changing the route back to its current right turn.

Now, fans routinely arrive in their seats early to catch the Pride's pregame performance, capped by the moment that they have waited days, weeks, months or even years to see in person once again. And when the magic moment arrives and the Vols enter the field, an extraordinary feeling extends all across Vol Nation. From Neyland Stadium around the world, "It's Football Time in Tennessee!"

Rocky Top

Though not the "official" fight song of the University of Tennessee, Rocky Top has become as big a part of Tennessee Athletics as the orange and white of its uniforms.

The song, written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant at the Gatlinburg Inn in 1967, became a worldwide hit after being recorded by bluegrass legends the Osborne Brothers and later as a country hit for Lynn Anderson.

The song was first performed by the Pride of the Southland Marching Band as part of a tribute to country music in the band's halftime show during the Alabama game on Oct. 21, 1972. To say it caught on with fans would be a vast understatement. Longtime band director Dr. W. J. Julian made it a regular fixture at games and said later that if Rocky Top was ever not played, then there would be a mutiny among Vol fans.

Rocky Top was named an official song of the state of Tennessee in 1982, the fifth song at the time to receive the designation.

The "official" fight song, played as the team runs through the T and after scoring plays, is Down the Field:

Here's to old Tennessee
Never we'll sever
We pledge our loyalty
Forever and ever
Backing our football team
Faltering never
Cheer and fight with all of your might
For Tennessee!

Orange and White Checkerboards

The connection between the University of Tennessee and the now-familiar checkerboard pattern dates back to 1921 and the completion of iconic Ayers Hall on the UT campus. The building's clock tower, visible from field level at Neyland Stadium until the enclosure of the upper deck of the north end in 1996, is topped by the pattern in brick.

When he took over as head football coach in 1964, Doug Dickey introduced an orange and white checkerboard end zone design to the surface of Shields-Watkins Field. Many programs, Tennessee included, had used checkerboard patterns to decorate end zones dating to at least the 1930s, but the addition of the orange color was a new and unique tradition for Tennessee.

The checkerboard end zones remained until artificial turf was installed at the stadium in 1968, when technology could not produce the proper color for the orange. When Dickey returned as director of athletics in 1985, he looked for a way to restore the checkerboards and did just that when a new artificial surface was installed prior to the 1989 season.

Natural grass returned to Neyland Stadium for the 1994 season, and the Tennessee trademark remained. Since then, the pattern has become a Volunteer icon, appearing along the court apron at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center and on uniforms and facilities all over campus.

The Vol Navy

When former Vol Network radio broadcaster George Mooney first tied up his small runabout across the street from newly renamed Neyland Stadium in 1962, he couldn’t have imagined that he was starting what would become one of the most unique traditions in college football.
 
Mooney, frustrated with the gameday traffic, began to captain his boat up the Tennessee River during the first season that the stadium bore its new name. Now, six decades later, the Vol Navy is more than 200 boats strong each UT home gameday, with many arriving early in the week to kick off a days-long tailgate party. When the Vols have back-to-back home games, it's common to see members of the Vol Navy stick around for the entire week.
 
Boats of all shapes and sizes tie up on docks that stretch from the Basler Boathouse (the home of the Tennessee rowing program), directly across from Neyland Stadium, all the way through Volunteer Landing Marina, Calhoun's on the River and Bicentennial Park. The Neyland Greenway spans the distance, allowing fans who have come to campus and the downtown area via more traditional means to view the boats, soak in the atmosphere and even pick up an invitation aboard to join the party.
 
The port of call of the boats is just as eclectic as the boats themselves. Members of the Navy come from as far downstream as Florida and Louisiana to set up for a weekend and from as close as Concord Marina to join in for the afternoon.

The Vol Walk

The Vol Walk first became an official part of gameday in Knoxville when Tennessee hosted Alabama on Oct. 20, 1990.
 
The Vol Walk tradition has evolved over the years, with changes in its path and length. When the Tennessee Lettermen's Wall of Fame was first erected outside Neyland-Thompson Sports Center in 2000, Hall of Fame head football coach Phillip Fulmer had the walk begin with players running their fingers along the wall's marble surface that bears the name of every Tennessee letterwinner in every sport in the department’s history.
 
The route of the Vol Walk was shortened in 2009, when team buses began dropping the players and staff off at the head of Peyton Manning Pass to make the walk through thousands of fans. The route down the street named for the legendary Tennessee quarterback leads past the Pride of the Southland Pep Band, before turning left on Phillip Fulmer Way to the cheers of more fans, passing the larger-than-life memorial statue of Gen. Robert Neyland, and finally making a right-hand turn into Gate 21A for a quiet final journey down the ramp to field level.
 
The Vol Walk gives players a unique and unforgettable pregame experience, but it also represents a connection for fans, young and old. It is a route where grandparents can share the love and spirit of Tennessee football with grandchildren, a place where proud parents can greet sons en route to a grueling gridiron battle, a place for fans—young and old—to meet their heroes, even a place for marriage proposals.

Neyland's Maxims

With very rare exceptions for the past several decades, before the Tennessee Volunteers football team takes the field on gameday, it gathers together and recites Gen. Robert R. Neyland’s seven game maxims in unison.
 
During three tenures—interrupted by military service to his country—as Tennessee’s head football coach from 1926-52, Neyland coached the Vols to six undefeated seasons, nine undefeated regular seasons, seven conference championships and four national championships. He was a tremendous leader who trained in the military, a West Point graduate who became a general during World War II. And he was superb in every phase of coaching, as an organizer, an innovator, a tactician and a disciplinarian.
 
Inspired by, and in some cases borrowed from the 1921 book published by his coach at West Point, Charles D. Daly, entitled American Football, How To Play It, Neyland compiled a list of 38 maxims that he felt best described how to achieve success in the game of football.
 
Neyland eventually trimmed that list down to seven tried and true maxims to guide his team’s efforts on the gridiron. The maxims remain as applicable today as they were nearly a century ago, and the men who once recited them in the Tennessee locker room alongside their teammates have gone on to apply them to their everyday lives.
 
Neyland’s Maxims
1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.
2. Play for and make the breaks, and when one comes your way SCORE.
3. If at first the game - or breaks - go against you, don't let up ... put on more steam.
4. Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ball game.
5. Ball, oskie, cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle ... for this is the WINNING EDGE.
6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.
7. Carry the fight to our opponent, and keep it there for 60 minutes.
 

The Pride of the Southland Marching Band

The University of Tennessee band was organized immediately after the Civil War when the university reopened. Since then, enrollment in the band program has grown to more than 400 students from all colleges of the university. “The Pride of the Southland Marching Band” celebrated its sesquicentennial (150^th) anniversary during the fall of 2019.
 
Dr. W. J. Julian took over the marching band in 1961 and made sweeping changes to the program, including moving its oversight from the ROTC program to the College of Education. The band had grown to more than 140 members and had taken on a less militaristic look in its uniforms, but the marching precision that was originally born under the ROTC tradition remained. Julian introduced the legendary "Circle Drill" routine, one of the most difficult and unique marching band maneuvers in the country.
 
The full Pride of the Southland Band, appears at all Tennessee home football games, and most out-of-town games, before hundreds of thousands of spectators and millions more on television. The Pride represented the state of Tennessee at 10 consecutive Presidential Inaugurations, from Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953) to George W. Bush (2001).
 
Prior to every Tennessee football game at historic Neyland Stadium, the full band takes the field for a pregame tradition unrivaled in college football. As the Pride concludes its show with "Stars and Stripes Forever," the Volunteers emerge from the locker room and collect in the tunnel in the north end zone. Band members then begin the march into the “T” formation now known around the world.
 
The band forms a giant, human “T” that stretches from the end zone to the 50-yard line, providing an entryway to competition unlike any other. When the cue comes from above and the Volunteers take the field, 102,455 Big Orange fans explode with excitement. It's a moment that elicits chills to even neutral observers and brings a tear to the eye of Vol fans everywhere.