Our Traditions

After being around for more than two centuries, UT has established many meaningful symbols and beloved traditions. Some are distinguished, and some are just plain fun.

The state received the "Volunteer" moniker in the nineteenth century for Tennesseans’ willingness to serve their country. During the Mexican War, Governor Aaron Brown issued a call requesting 2,800 volunteers for military service; he got 30,000 respondents. The Atlanta Constitution was the first to call UT athletes "Volunteers," after a Tennessee–Georgia Tech football game. The name stuck.

The Volunteer Statue—more commonly known as the Torchbearer—is made of Knox dolomite and originated from a student contest held by the classes of 1928 through 1932. It was adopted as the official symbol of the university in 1932, but the Great Depression and World War II delayed the statue being cast and displayed until 1968. It bears the words of inspiration: “One that beareth a torch standeth in shadow to give light to others.”

Walk through campus and you'll see a giant, ninety-eight-ton, Knox dolomite rock serving as a communication hub and palette of expression for the UT community. Unearthed in the 1960s, the Rock is a geological message board of every color. It changes often with hellos and goodbyes, birthday wishes, sports championships, marriage proposals, and political endorsements. Pretty much anything goes. It is so iconic, even the independent campus radio station, WUTK-FM, shares its namesake. It's called 90.3 The Rock, and it plays—what else?—rock music.

The ritual of Torch Night began in 1925 and continues every fall with each new freshman class. Every fall, the chancellor and administration assemble to officially declare the new students part of the student body. Candles are lit to symbolize the "Torch of Preparation" being provided to the new Volunteers. The first ceremony began with a bugler summoning freshmen toward Ayres Hall. As the class walked up the Hill, they stopped to give a yell for the sophomores and for the juniors, ultimately meeting the seniors at the top, where the underclassmen took an oath of loyalty to the university.

The Hill is symbolic of higher education in the state. UT, founded in downtown Knoxville in 1794 as Blount College, moved to the Hill in 1828 and quickly grew around it. The main part of UT's old campus stands on this rising bank above the north shore of the Tennessee River.

UT’s distinctive orange color was inspired by a small cluster of orange and white daisies on the Hill. In 1889, UT athletics association president Charles Moore spotted the flowers and chose the school’s colors in homage. The colors soon appeared on athletic uniforms and has permeated nearly every item in East Tennessee, from clothing to cars.

As one of the nation’s oldest collegiate bands, our Pride of the Southland Marching Band delivers the spirited soundtrack for campus life and our most beloved traditions. The band began with thirteen members right after the Civil War, when the university reopened after wartime. Since then, it’s grown to more than 300 talented musicians. The band has made the song "Rocky Top" famous and leads the Vol Walk, the “T” assembly on the field that welcomes our football team, and the half-time Salute to the Hill. Known for its precision and style, it’s the only college band to march in twelve consecutive presidential inaugural parades.

UT’s official alma mater is "On a Hallowed Hill," but its unofficial theme song is the ever-popular "Rocky Top," written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1967, who wrote hits such as Buddy Holly's "Wake up, Little Susie" and the Everly Brothers’ "Bye, Bye Love." First played by the UT Pride of the Southland Band in 1972, “Rocky Top” quickly became a staple of every football game and was named one of the state’s official songs in 1982.

No one is quite sure if UT picked Smokey or if Smokey picked UT. Back in 1953, the UT Pep Club sponsored a contest for a live mascot, and a bluetick hound responded to the crowd with a howl. Today, Smokey IX is famous for leading the Vols through the "T" prior to each home football game. A costumed version of Smokey emerged in the 1970s and was redesigned in 1982 to look more like the dog of today. Known to sport a tuxedo, overalls, or a Big Orange jersey, he’s a top collegiate mascot and a star both on and off the field.

The Vol Walk fuels an already charged day in Big Orange Country. About two hours before kickoff, the football team, dressed in suits, walk down Peyton Manning Pass and Phillip Fulmer Way into Neyland Stadium, allowing thousands of fans to see, cheer, and even high-five them. The team is trailed by the Pride of the Southland Band adding pep to the steps of the players and fans. The first Vol Walk was an unofficial one in 1989, but it was so popular with fans, it was made official the following year during the Alabama game under the helm of coach Johnny Majors.

Neyland Stadium seats 102,455 people, making it the third-largest non-racing stadium in the United States. It's been ranked as the best college football stadium by The Sporting News and as part of the best college football weekend experiences by Sports Illustrated. It had humble beginnings, though. In 1921, it started as simply a field with just the Western stands. The university ran out of money, and students and faculty were recruited to finish the project. The playing surface, Watkins-Shields Field, is named after the original donors, Andrew Poyar, Colonel W.S. Shields, and Alice Watkins-Shields. The stadium is named after UT's most winning coach, General Robert Neyland, who not only coached from 1892 to 1962, but also spearheaded the stadium's first major expansion. His forward-thinking plans have been included in every expansion since. Today, a nine-foot, nearly 1,500-pound bronze statue of General Neyland kneels between gates 15A and 17 in the general's honor.