Wednesday, October 19, 2022 - Homecoming

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Letter from the Editor: ‘Never been prouder’

low through so I could send these incredible words out to our followers: “BREAKING: Tennessee defeats Alabama 52-49.”

I watched as a stampede of Vols took over the field until the turf was a carpet of orange humanity. These are the moments that make a community. As freshman Emily Mitchell told the Beacon, “I have never been prouder to be a Tennessee Vol, now and forever.”

records and gained international recognition. What student, especially one who loves winning, wouldn’t be drawn to UT by last weekend’s spectacle?

DANIEL DASSOW Editor-in-Chief

What a game.

The videos flooding our feeds are addicting, aren’t they? From every angle – from phones, drones and Canons – the shots induce chills.

Tennessee fans (and sworn enemies) will replay those moments forever: not just the spectacular connections from Hooker and Hyatt, but that almost-short final-second kick from McGrath, the split-second disbelief, the first screams followed by the seismic crack of orange and white fireworks lighting up the giant rim of Neyland.

Was there someone waiting with a finger on a button for the moment they would light up our world? I was sitting at home with my finger on the “tweet” button waiting to see the punt fol-

Could the timing of this euphoria been any better, just one day before the start of Homecoming? The Vols took down the Crimson Tide in Neyland Stadium. Welcome home, Volunteers!

Here’s what you need to know. If this season in the life of UT Knoxville was summed up in one word, it would be “energy.” It’s as if the pandemic wound us up into a tight ball of potential energy and at the crack of a baseball bat, it all became kinetic and exploded outwards. We have accelerated past the pandemic and are speeding into the future.

The day before the game, Chancellor Donde Plowman joined alumnus Paul Finebaum, a former sports editor of the Beacon, on a live taping of his show outside Thompson-Boling.

Though many students, staff and faculty wish campus was not growing so fast or remodeling so much, Plowman celebrated all the change: “I say to people, wait til we’re really great at football, and then we’ll just be off the charts!”

Well, we just beat Alabama. We broke some

President Boyd and Chancellor Plowman saw far more than just a win for the football team on Saturday. They saw donations and students pouring in. They saw newer and bigger buildings. It would not surprise me at all if in the very near future, we had to abandon the charts that once tracked the Volunteer experience.

On our end, the Beacon is learning how to cover a fantastically successful football program. We are still learning how to make the most of this energy.

But we’ve already started to gain momentum, and I am confident that we will have a resurgence of our own in the next few years, spurred on by increased visibility on campus and support from alumni and campus partners.

As a step in that direction, while the grass outside our office is still littered with fragments of victory cigars, we are adding our full nameplate to our website for the first time. This will announce who we are, students here to serve you with this special edition and all our work.

announce who we are, students here to serve you Welcome home, Vols.

Meet your grand marshals: Drew and Ellie Holcomb STAFF REPORT

Before they got married or performed for years together with the Americana rock group Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, Drew and Ellie Holcomb met as students at UT.

Nearly 20 albums later, including four solo albums from Ellie Holcomb and the couple’s recent duet album “Coming Home: A Collection of Songs,” released in January of this year, the pair is set to lead the 2022 UT Homecoming parade as grand marshals.

This year’s parade, like so much else at the university, is expected to be one of the largest ever.

Drew graduated from the College Scholars Program at UT in 2003. Ellie graduated in 2005 with a degree in English and again in 2006 with a master’s in secondary education.

In a statement to The Daily Beacon, Drew expressed his love for UT and referred to Tennessee’s triumphant defeat of Alabama at Neyland Stadium the day before homecoming began.

“My years in Knoxville as a student at UT were some of the most important of my life. I made lifelong friends, met my wife Ellie, and started writing music and playing shows in Knoxville,” Holcomb said.

“We are incredibly honored to be a part of this year’s Homecoming festivities, especially coming off of a generation changing victory over Al-

abama last week. We can’t wait to celebrate with all our fellow Vols!”

On Friday, Oct. 21, the pair will lead the parade in the tradition of past grand marshals, including WNBA star and Time 100 honoree Candace Parker, student olympians and Del and Dane Bryant, sons of Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, the writers of “Rocky Top.”

The parade will begin at 4 p.m. at Fiji Island and will travel to the Student Union Plaza. It will feature for the first time the Tennessee Walking Horse, as well as student-made floats.

After the parade, Drew and Ellie will perform live at the plaza beginning at 6 p.m. in a free con-

cert hosted by the Campus Events Board (CEB). It is not the first time they have performed during Homecoming Week. In 2016, they capped off the week with a performance at Market Square hosted by CEB.

Ellie has millions of followers as a solo Christian artist and no longer performs with Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors. She and Drew are set to tour as a duo for the second time in “The Residency Tour” beginning in February. On March 23-25, they will take the stage at the Bijou Theatre on Gay Street, which they have described as their favorite venue to play.

Tickets are available for purchase online.

Americana rock musician Drew Holcomb (‘03) and singer-songwriter Ellie Holcomb (‘05) will serve as grand marshals for the 2022 Homecoming parade. Courtesy of Ashtin Paige

Pomping for the circumstance: Homecoming comes to the Greeks

ABBY ANN RAMSEY Managing Editor

While UT promotes many homecoming traditions like dyeing the Europa and Bull fountain and selecting a grand marshal to lead the annual parade, you might be more likely to know it’s Homecoming week because of talk of another tradition: pomping.

Every year during homecoming week, fraternities and sororities are paired with one another to compete in a series of competitions like chalk art, banner decoration, Smokey’s Howl and lawn display decoration. All of these events culminate on Friday with the Homecoming Parade where they showcase a parade float.

The lawn displays and parade floats normally have a wooden base, but on top of that base, Greek Life members “pomp” to decorate.

If you’ve never heard of pomping, you’re not alone. Basically, you take a small, square piece of tissue paper and fold the edges in to make it into a flat ball. Then, the pomp is ready to weave into chicken wire on the wooden display and create a design.

If you still can’t picture it, you’re not alone.

had no idea what it was.”

On Monday night, days before floats and lawn displays must be complete, Fraternity row was full of people hard at work. The houses for Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Chi Omega’s partner fraternity, and Alpha Gamma Rho, Alpha Omicron Pi’s partner fraternity were packed full of people and tissue paper. Outside of the houses, fraternity members were drilling and sawing to put together the base of the floats and lawn displays.

Parker Anderson, a junior management and entrepreneurship major and chair of Alpha Omicron Pi’s homecoming committee, walked through the Alpha Gamma Rho house stepping over pieces of lumber on the ground and describing the amount of tissue paper in the house.

“There’s millions of them because we’re pomping I don’t even know how many square feet,” Anderson said.

Not only do the pomps consume the space of the sorority and fraternity houses, they also consume hours of people’s time.

nior kinesiology major are the co-chairs of Chi Omega’s homecoming committee. Ford said most Chi Omega members are required to pomp for 10 hours this week, but to lighten the burden, they have themed nights.

Last night’s theme was a talent show where a rendition of “Dixieland Delight” led the entire room to harmonize together, led by the spirit of UT’s recent win against Alabama, as blue tissue paper flew across the room and covered the floor.

“We want to work hard but to me, especially like having a leadership rule, it’s not worth being stressed,” Ford said. “So we just have fun, like do the best we can, meet new people.”

While some people may see the process as grueling or time consuming, Ford relishes in the opportunity she gets as a member of Chi Omega.

A member of the Chi Omega sorority “pomp,” an annual homecoming process of folding small pieces of paper for parade floats, on Oct. 17, 2022. Ali La Rosa / Contributor

Jenna Briggs, a junior nursing major and Chi Omega member, couldn’t visualize the big picture until the displays actually got decorated last year.

“Once I saw it come together, I understood why we were doing it,” Briggs said. “But when we first started doing it and talking about it, I

The chairs for homecoming committees spend countless hours at their respective fraternity house, delegating tasks and trying to create a fun environment for members who are there to help.

Bella Ford, a junior English major on the pre-med track and Lesley Colemean, a ju-

The process is stressful for those involved, but Anderson said that’s part of what makes it so fun. Before college she had no idea what pomping was, much less how much it would impact her. It led her to meet her best friend and she even got a marketing internship with Parade Pomps, a Knoxville-based company opened by a former Alpha Omicron Pi member that sells the paper for pomps.

“I love the art,” Anderson said. “I love everything that goes into it. But I like how close everybody gets.”

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UT’s most beloved homecoming traditions, new and old

Southeastern Stomp Fest

UT Homecoming has been around since 1916, when over 300 UT alumni came together for a UT vs. Vanderbilt football game, where UT had an upset victory winning 10-6. However, Homecoming was not an annual occurrence on campus until after World War II.

This year’s theme is “Salute to Smokey,” a nod to the retirement of Smokey X and the beginning of Smokey XI’s career as mascot.

While there are more than 40 events happening during the week, here are some classic UT homecoming traditions that have been around for decades.

Homecoming Parade and Floats

The Homecoming Parade has happened annually since 1916, usually the day before the football game, led by the Proud of the Southland Marching Band. In 1955, floats were incorporated into the parade, so local businesses and student organizations spend their week creating the floats surrounding the theme of the year.

UT also selects alumni to be grand marshals at the parade. Musicians Ellie and Drew Holcomb will serve as marshals this year.

This year’s parade will be happening on

Friday at 4 p.m. starting at Circle Park. This is predicted to be one of the largest that the university has seen so far, and will also be the first year that they are featuring the Tennessee Walking Horse.

It will wind its way from Fiji Island in Fraternity Park to the Student Union Plaza.

Dyeing of the Europa and the Bull Fountain

This event began in 2010 and is hosted by the Student Alumni Associates and the Homecoming Committee. Students dye the Europa and the Bull Fountain orange to show school spirit, similarly to Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, where participants dye the river green.

The Southeastern Stomp Fest began in 1999 and is hosted by the Office of Multicultural Student Life in collaboration with the Black Cultural Programming Committee and the Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life.

The National Panhellenic fraternities and sororities compete against each other with high-energy stepping performances.

Tennessee Walking Horse

After Smokey was named UT’s mascot in 1953, some Vols disagreed and wanted a Tennessee Walking Horse to represent the university. To compromise, they created the Homecoming tradition of having the horse circle the Neyland field before the football game in 1965. The horse will be walking at both the parade and the game this year.

ACE Events

All Campus Events Committee (ACE) is one of the oldest organizations on campus, and they have hosted a variety of events during Homecoming week for years. Their events, including Smokey’s Howl, the banner competition, Tower of Cans and the annual kickball tournemant are a way to get students involved.

Some newer events for Homecoming 2022 include a comedy show, “Paint the Union,” and a “Pup Rally,” where students, faculty and staff are able to enter their dogs into a spiritthemed costume competition.

Vince Staten: The homecoming queen with a bag over his head

OLIVIA HAYES Copy Chief

“I have something none of the other candidates have.”

That was the campaign slogan adopted by Vince Staten, the man who ran for homecoming queen at the University of Tennessee in 1970.

Staten was a graduate student and a humor columnist for The Daily Beacon that year. He wrote daily columns for the paper and was popular for making students laugh.

“His column was hilarious everyday,” Tom Gillem, the 1969 editor-in-chief of the Beacon, said. “He didn’t put out a bad column.”

The bag over his head comes from Staten’s column signature, the picture that accompanied his column “Staten Static.” He thought it would be funny to have his signature resemble the blind date joke about wearing a bag over your head.

Staten explained that his running for queen was “accidental” and came to fruition at just another normal day in the Beacon office.

“I never had any intention (of running),” Staten said. “We didn’t hatch up a conspiracy.”

In a conversation with David Williams, the news editor at the time, Staten playfully mentioned, “Rumors that I’m running for homecoming queen are not true.” The next day, Williams published that exact statement in the

paper. Because of one casual joke and the power of the newspaper, thus began the movement to crown Staten queen.

Just as 7UP was labeled the un-Cola at the time, Staten’s supporters deemed him the “Uncandidate,” passing out handouts for him on campus and even pulling people out of the library to vote for him.

Gillem described Staten as a “known quantity on campus” and attributes his popularity as a columnist as the reason he garnered such a massive fan base.

“He wrote stuff that meant things to students at the time ... things they experienced everyday,” Gillem said.

Running for homecoming queen also served as an extension of the Apathy Party, which Staten created the previous spring. He declared everyone who didn’t vote was for him.

After days of campaigning and promoting Staten propaganda, the results were in: Staten won a landslide victory. He earned 60% of the total votes – about 2,500 students casted handwritten ballots for him. The runner up received 300.

But Staten’s victory didn’t last long. His roommate called him and warned him not to come home.

“One of the disgruntled candidates had come to the apartment with a few members of the football team,” Staten said.

Staten promised his supporters that after he was crowned, everyone who voted for him

could join him on the football field wearing a paper bag on their head. That promise was never fulfilled because the Student Tribunal declared the election invalid and disqualified him as a candidate because he was a graduate student.

Members of the Student Government Association challenged his disqualification and filed a lawsuit against the Student Tribunal to get him reinstated. They argued that the students who voted for him were misled into believing that he would be crowned if he won.

After unintentionally ruffling some feathers, Staten agreed with the Student Tribunal to throw out the election and was never crowned. When I asked if he wished he had been crowned, Staten flatly responded, “No.”

“For him, it was a joke, but because of his popularity everybody jumped on board with it. All he did was make fun of the situation, like the Apathy Party,” Gillem said.

UT did not crown another homecoming queen for the next twelve years and has crowned queens on and off since then, the last one being in 2013.

Since “the story that just won’t die!” – his email response to me when I asked him for an interview – Staten has had an extensive writing career. He’s served as a columnist for several other newspapers, such as the New York Daily Times, and has published fifteen novels.

He has still never been crowned homecoming queen.

Students throw cups of orange dye into the Europa and the Bull Fountain in McClung Plaza on Oct. 17, 2022. Ericksen Gomez-Villeda / The Daily Beacon

Vince Staten was crowned homecoming queen in 1970, before his crown was revoked. Courtesy of Knox TN Today

GUIDE TO THE UNFORGETTABLE SATURDAY NIGHT

A

History made

Tennessee wins shootout against Alabama on last-second field goal

ANDREW PETERS Sports Editor

Tennessee can light cigars for the first time since 2006.

The No. 6 Vols defeated No. 3 Alabama 52-49 on a last second field goal, snapping a 15-year losing streak and moving Tennessee to 6-0.

“Tonight was for our players, for our former players, for our donors,” head coach Josh Heu pel said. “It is for our fans. I know how much this has meant to the people of Tennessee and Vol Nation, and I’m so excited that we came out with the win, for everybody involved.”

The Vols and the Crimson Tide traded touch downs in the first quarter, with Tennessee scor ing on its first drive of the game on a Jabari Small run.

Tennessee created some separation in the first half, taking advantage of Alabama’s many mistakes. Alabama had nine penalties for 71 yards in the first half alone.

Alabama also had a crucial mistake, muffing Tennessee’s punt after some confusion about who touched the ball. The muffed punt set up a Tennessee touchdown a few plays later.

Jaylin Hyatt – who has been Hendon Hook er’s favorite target with Cedric Tillman out –had a huge first half for the Vols. He picked up two touchdowns on back-to-back drives to give Tennessee a 21-7 lead in the first quarter.

Tennessee led by 18 at one point in the first half, but Alabama managed to crawl back and make it a 28-20 game at the half.

“Tonight was for our players, for our former players, for our donors. It is for our fans. I know how much this has meant to the people of Tennessee and Vol Nation, and I’m so excited that we came out with the win, for everybody involved.”

Alabama came out of halftime looking more like itself, and punched Tennessee in the mouth on its first drive of the half, scoring and convert

ing for two to tie it up.

Tennessee had an answer, and scored on a 60-yard pass to nobody other than Hyatt. The Vols missed the extra point, opening the win dow for Alabama to take the lead on the next drive.

The Tide jumped on the opportunity, and took a 35-34 lead on a Jahmyr Gibbs rushing touchdown.

Hooker threw a rare interception in the third quarter, but Alabama didn’t make Tennessee pay for the turnover, punting the next drive.

Besides Hooker’s interception, the veteran quarterback was near perfect. He threw for 385 yards and five touchdowns on 21-30 passing.

“He controlled the game for us,” Heupel said.

Hooker made sure his interception wouldn’t define his game, and on the next drive he hit Hyatt again on a 78-yard touchdown pass. Hy att’s four receiving touchdowns is a Tennessee record.

Hyatt finished the game with 207 yards and five touchdowns.

“The looks they were giving us—me and (Hendon)—were on the right page as far as what we were looking at, and him trusting in me.” Hyatt said. “This is what we needed.”

Alabama was right back in it a few drives later, marching down the field and scoring on a short pass from Bryce Young to Cameron Latu to make it 42-42.

Tennessee shot itself in the foot halfway through the fourth quarter as Hooker dropped the ball on a handoff to Small, and Alabama re covered and took it into the endzone to make it 49-42.

In the redzone on fourth down, Hooker threw another interception, but the Vols were bailed out by a pass interference call and scored the next play to tie it up.

Alabama missed a 50-yard field goal with 15 seconds left, giving Tennessee one last chance to win it in regulation.

Hooker made an 18-yard pass to Ramel Key ton and a 27-yard pass to Bru McCoy to get the Vols to the 15-yard line with two seconds re maining.

Chase McGrath’s field goal was short, but good, and fans spilled onto the field, cigars in hand.

Heupel has been at Tennessee for less than two seasons, but he is well on his way to flipping the script on the Tennessee football program. The win puts Tennessee in the College Football Playoff conversation, but for now, Heupel is en joying the win.

“I smoked it slow,” Heupel said of his post game cigar. “But it was dang good.”

Top: Smokey and Davy Crockett get a roaring cheer from the packed crowd at Neyland. Middle: Fans participated in an “orange out” at the game against Alabama on Oct. 15, 2022. Bottom: No. 40 Chase McGrath makes the game-winning field goal against Alabama on Oct. 15, 2022 in Neyland Stadium. Nolan Keesee / Contributor

Head Coach Josh Heupel

Pandemonium reigned again as fans celebrated Alabama victory

EMMA COFFEY AND AUTUMN HALL Arts and Culture Editor and News Editor

Following Tennessee’s 52-49 win against Alabama, students and fans celebrated both on and off the field. From storming the field to burning couches and breaking TVs, the UT fanbase was more than ecstatic about the win over Alabama.

Although the celebration of the historic victory was well-deserved, some fans took their excitement to a destructive – and expensive–level. As Vol Network legend John Ward once said, “pandemonium reigns!”

After the last-second field goal by Chase McGrath, fans rushed the field for the first time since the 1998 Victory against Florida.

The entire field was covered by a sea of orange within minutes after the win. Thousands of people brought their victory cigars and lit them for the first time since 2006.

Senior Anna Cykoski described her emotions as she rushed the field with thousands of students.

“Neyland was electric. Tears streamed down my face as ‘Dixieland Delight’ blasted through the speakers and we jumped onto the field. The crowd roared as the goal posts were torn down, hands stretching out to touch them on their journey to the river,” Cykoski said. “My hands were shaking as I lit my cigar to celebrate, joining thousands of others in this special tradition.”

Cykoski said that as a lifelong Tennessee fan, this was a moment she will share with her future children and grandchildren.

Students were in disbelief that they were a part of this historic moment. Those who grew up as Vols fans had heard about the football traditions, but did not expect to ever be a part of them.

slow motion. The Vols are a different breed and there’s no stopping us now,” Bonn said.

Other students were happy to finally have something to celebrate. Garrett Russell, a junior and Knoxville native, explained how the victory redefined the experience of being a UT fan.

“Rushing the field was a dream come true. All the pain that has come with being a Vol fan the past 20 years was worth it. The goal posts are ours and the Vols are back,” Russell said.

UT alumni have also been waiting a long time for a win like this. Ally Willoughby (‘22) and her friends chose this game as their reunion weekend and they were not prepared for the experience that they got. She said that she was overwhelmed with emotions being back in a place that feels like home and celebrating with 100,000 fans – it felt even more special for her as an alumni.

While many people rushed the field without facing injury, some did not. Immediately after the winning kick, people in the student section were forcibly pushed down the stands to run onto the field. Junior Abby Brewer returned home with a bruise the size of a softball, but she said that she would do it again in a heartbeat to experience the joy of beating Alabama.

A piece of the upright was then taken out of the stadium and transported along Cumberland Avenue and thrown into the Tennessee River. This tradition first began when UT beat Alabama in 1982 and fans tore the goal posts down.

Senior Interfraternity Council President Michael Rodriguez is one of the many fans who carried a goal post out of Neyland and to the Tennessee River.

“The emotions I experienced that night are unlike any other during my time at UT. It felt as if the last four years of struggles finally just shed right off. Hearing alumni always talk about the Golden Ages of Tennessee football in the ‘90s made me envious that I’d never experience something of that nature,” Rodriguez said.

“But there I was, carrying the goalpost down Cumberland with hundreds of my fellow peers, taking a dip into the river and carrying it right back out – it just felt right.”

Only a few hours after the game, madness and chaos ensued on the Strip. According to Knoxville Police Department, around 11 p.m. following the game, gunshots were fired on Cumberland Avenue, where many fans were still out celebrating.

seven gunshots and had to hide in the store’s cooler room.

“I just witnessed mad chaos, everyone was running … there was a mass of people standing on the other side of the tape watching everything happen,” Sanderson said.

“I was so excited to be celebrating beating Alabama, I never thought anything like that would happen … but I felt so unsafe on the Strip because I didn’t know if someone else would pull out their gun and start shooting at people … I’m glad that no one died.”

Later in the night, fans in Fort Sanders took to burning and setting fire to things and smashing glass as a form of celebrating the Vols’ victory.

Senior Mary Demere lives on Clinch Avenue and saw people burning furniture after returning home from the game. Demere’s neighbors set an old cabinet on fire and were standing around it playing “Rocky Top.” She said that there was a large cloud of black smoke and then firemen arrived.

Junior Chris Meyers was also in Fort Sanders with his friends and witnessed multiple fires.

Junior Miles Bonn explained how valuable the moment was to him as a student.

“I will forever remember that Saturday night when we made that field goal. It felt like everything went numb and was moving in

“When I was jumping the wall the crowd pushed into me causing me to slip slightly before jumping down onto the field. I wasn’t able to jump far enough from the wall so the side of my upper thigh smacked the wall. While it did hurt immensely when it happened, I didn’t have time to care about it. I ran onto the field and cheered with everyone else,” Brewer said.

Fans were quick to tear down the goalposts on both the north and south sides of the field.

A man was shot in his hands and was transported to UT Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. The police do not believe there was any connection between the victim and the multiple shooters, but the investigation into the shooting is still ongoing.

UT junior Ashley Sanderson works at University Liquors on the Strip and witnessed the shooting while she was standing behind the counter. Sanderson said she heard around

“It was wild. We were in the Fort and there were burning couches in the middle of the streets, people crowded on roofs. The glow of the fires lit up everyone’s orange jerseys and orange dresses. It was a surreal experience,” Meyers said.

Some of the parties that occurred near Clinch Avenue were so large that people were blocking the entire street. There were fireworks going off, people burning doors and couches lying in the middle of the road.

With a chaotic but eventful night, Vols fans are going to remember this one for a long time.

A sea of UT fans flooded Shields-Watkins Field and tore down both goalposts in triumph after the Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide in Neyland Stadium on Oct. 15, 2022. Nolan Keesee / Contributor

“We were in the Fort and there were burning couches in the middle of the streets ... The glow of the fires lit up everyone’s orange jerseys and orange dresses. It was a surreal experience.”

Junior Chris Meyers

Notebook: Vols’ win over Alabama makes them contenders

ERIC WOODS Assistant Sports Editor

Tennessee entered the Alabama game with so many questions. Is the hype real? How will the Vols do against a “real” team? Can the de fense create key stops?

Even if all of those questions were answered, one assumption loomed. Tennessee surely won’t beat Alabama, right?

Well, it happened. For the first time since 2006, the Vols lit their cigars after beating the Crimson Tide, and Josh Heupel became the first Tennessee head coach to beat Alabama since Phillip Fulmer.

The Vols are legitimate contenders

Tennessee entered Saturday night as out siders looking in when it came to the SEC East discussion. Now, the college football world is officially on notice, even the doubters, that this team is for real, not just in the East.

Now the defense obviously was not pretty, but the group came up with a big stop that led to McGrath’s game-winning field goal.

Tennessee’s offense is unstoppable, plain and simple. If the defense can continue to come up with stops in crucial moments, then the sky’s the limit for this team.

“Good teams get better throughout the course of the season,” Heupel said. “We are

halfway finished with the regular season. We are just beginning.”

Jalin Hyatt was terrific

Terrific is an understatement. Hyatt had the game of his life, the game of any Tennessee wide receiver’s life at that. On six receptions, he shattered a Vol record with five touchdowns, and 200 yards. Hyatt was simply unstoppable. His ability to create separation on routes was second to none.

Hyatt played the biggest role in the biggest game of the year for the Vols.

He had a pair of scores in the first quarter, and he was on watch to break the record. He then burned Demarcco Hellams for a 60-yard touchdown five minutes into the third.

The record-breaker came when Hyatt once again got separation at the beginning of the third quarter at the beginning of the fourth

quarter to give Vols the lead.

Hyatt’s most important, however, was his fifth. He took a slant off a Hendon Hooker pass for 13 yards to the house.

“To be honest, I didn’t know I was going to have five touchdowns,” Hyatt said. “That’s a lot. It was the looks, what they were showing us … We knew we could execute on big plays, knew that coming into the game and knew we had to in order to win this game. I’m proud of everyone in this locker room, and we’re onto the next.”

Game of the year

This was without a doubt the game of the year so far. Besides, who doesn’t love a shoot out? Tennessee led 28-10 at one point. After the Crimson Tide stormed back and tied it at the beginning of the second half, it looked like

Tennessee’s time was running out.

But Tennessee kept responding, even after Alabama took a 49-42 lead halfway through the fourth quarter following a fumble returned for a touchdown. Tennessee kept coming back out and not backing down.

Hendon Hooker connected with Hyatt and the game was tied, but Bama had the ball with a little over three minutes, and it once again looked like the Vols’ time was running out.

Tennessee then responded in a different way: on the defensive side.

The Crimson Tide was milking out the clock, but the Vol defense caused the drive to end shortly and force a long field goal with some time left on the clock. Alabama missed it and the rest is history.

After 15 years, the Vols finally beat the Crim son Tide.

Other notes

Hendon Hooker cementing himself in the Heisman candidacy was somehow not the big gest story of the game, but he had 385 yards and five touchdowns. The offensive line had a huge game, allowing zero sacks and neutraliz ing one of college football’s best players.

“The big picture of this means we are the best team on the field this game and that is our goal every single week,” Heupel said. “There are so many uncontrollables. Control what we can control.”

How Jalin Hyatt became Tennessee’s most lethal weapon

ANDREW PETERS Sports Editor

Jalin Hyatt watched a year ago as Alabama fans lit their cigars in Bryant-Denny Stadium in the final minutes of the Crimson Tide’s 5224 routing of the Vols.

Hyatt was a nonfactor in the game, picking up just 14 yards on three receptions. It was a tough game in what had been a tough season for the sophomore receiver. He was coming off a great start in his freshman year, but hadn’t improved the way he and many others expect ed he would.

That night stuck with him. Watching the op posing fans celebrate Alabama’s 15th straight win was something he didn’t want to feel again.

Hyatt grew up just minutes from South Carolina’s campus, but he brought his talents to the Jeremy Pruitt-coached team in 2020. His freshman year he recorded 276 yards and a pair of touchdowns, showing some flashes of greatness coming off the bench for Tennessee.

His college career was shaken up at the end of Tennessee’s historically bad 2020 season as Pruitt was fired amidst a recruiting scandal, but Hyatt stuck around as Josh Heupel took over.

Hyatt didn’t see much improvement his sophomore year, recording 226 yards and two touchdowns on 21 receptions.

Heading into the 2022 season, Hyatt knew he had some changes to make.

“Even in the middle part of last year, his fo cus and attention to detail, he understood that it needed to change,” Heupel said after one of Tennessee’s first fall practices. “He started making those changes.”

In Tennessee’s dominant win over Akron, Hendon Hooker’s main target, Cedric Tillman, went down with a high-ankle sprain. Hyatt had his chance to be the No. 1 target, and he took it, picking up 166 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the 63-6 win.

A few games later, Hyatt continued to show improvement as he picked up two touchdowns in the Vols’ 40-13 win over LSU on the road.

Then, Hyatt had the game of his career.

The Vols entered the Alabama game with their best chance to win in over a decade. Their offense was rolling, their defense was showing improvement and they had already put togeth er a handful of impressive wins.

Hyatt scored his first touchdown of the game in the first quarter. He burned past his defender and Hooker hit him on a perfect 36yard pass to put the Vols up 14-7. His second touchdown came less than three minutes later and put Tennessee up by two touchdowns.

Alabama evened things up at 28 in the third quarter, but Hyatt quickly got the touchdown back. Hyatt once again left his defender in the dust, and Hooker found him on a 60-yard pass

to score.

The 60-yard touchdown catch was the lon gest of his career – but it didn’t last long. In the fourth quarter, Hooker found Hyatt on a quick pass, and Hyatt took it to score – a 78yard touchdown pass. The touchdown was his fourth of the game, a Tennessee program re cord.

“The looks they were giving us—me and (Hendon)—were on the right page as far as what we were looking at, and him trusting in me,” Hyatt said.

Hyatt’s big night wasn’t over yet.

After a scoop-and-score gave Alabama the lead, Tennessee’s offense marched down the field and capped off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to nobody other than Hyatt. He finished the game with 207 yards and five touchdowns on just six receptions.

“Preparation meets opportunity and you have to be ready to smash it,” Heupel said. “Tonight, he had opportunities and played re ally good football. It’s really special what he did tonight.”

Hyatt’s game was unbelievable – but it wasn’t a fluke. He put in the work and the hours in the offseason and was rewarded with a victory cigar on Saturday.

“I think that is one of the great stories,” Heupel said. “Everyone knew he wanted to be a great player. You’ve heard me say it. He has worked to become a great player this year.”

Jalin Hyatt celebrates one of his five touch downs in Tennessee’s win over Alabama on Oct. 16, 2022. Nolan Keesee / The Daily Beacon

Jalin Hyatt (11) and Jerome Carvin (75) pump up the crowd at the Alabama game on Oct. 15, 2022 in Neyland Stadium. Nolan Keesee / Contributor

Move aside, Texas! Here are the 15 biggest buildings at UT, ranked

AURORA SILAVONG Staff Writer

UT’s campus is comprised of nearly 300 buildings spread across over 900 acres of land, and it is not done growing. Construction is a fact of life for students, as buildings are demol ished and replaced with relative frequency.

Through this process of construction and extension, campus is now home to several massive buildings. It begs the question: what are the biggest buildings on campus?

The list below does not include the many parking garages on campus, which are some of the biggest (and biggest headache-inducing) structures on campus. It also does not include some prominent UT buildings not directly situ ated on campus, such as the Conference Center on Henley Street. The list is ordered by gross area in square feet.

Data was gathered from the UT Active Build ings List on the Facilities Services website and Volopedia, and may differ from other UT sources.

15. Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building (191,425 square feet)

Home to the Department of Electrical Engi neering and Computer Science, this six-story building was named in honor of and partiallyfunded by Taiwanese-American businessman and billionaire Min H. Kao.

14. Hess Hall (222,237 square feet)

Lovingly called “The Zoo” by many former and current residents, Hess Hall was one of the largest student dormitories in the South when it was completed in the fall of 1961.

Fun fact: the male wing was the first part of the building to get air conditioning in 1998, with the rest of the building not being outfitted with A/C until 2000.

13. Zeanah Engineering Complex (228,000 square feet)

By some metrics, the new Zeanah Engineer ing Complex is the largest academic building on campus. It is the new home of the university’s Department of Nuclear Engineering. The build ing features green roofs, which are covered in greenery and orange and white flowers that will be visible via aircraft and satellite.

12. Ken and Blaire Mossman Building (230,009 square feet)

Announced in 2015 and completed in 2018, the Ken and Blaire Mossman Building is home to several departments: biochemistry, mo lecular biology (BCMB), microbiology, nutri tion and psychology. In 2019, the building was selected as an outstanding design in that year’s American School & University Educational In teriors Showcase.

11. Dabney-Buehler Hall (235,606 square feet)

The home of the Chemistry Department is actually comprised of three structures, the result of three renovation projects since the building was first constructed in 1929. The last extension project was completed just in time for the university’s bicentennial in 1994.

10. Science and Engineering Building Research Facility (251,216 square feet)

Before there were Starship food bots on campus, there was the UT-REMOTEC Robot, which helped break the ground for the SERF building in 1992. The building is the largest research facility to receive state funds in Ten nessee.

9. Strong Hall (273,493 square feet)

Built on the site of an old women’s dormi tory, Strong Hall is said to be haunted by its namesake, Sophronia Marrs Strong. Psychics and paranormal researchers have visited the site over the years and have concluded their investigations with the assertion that there is a ghost on the premises.

8. Fred D. Brown Jr. Residence Hall (278,134 square feet)

This 700-bed residence hall, completed in 2014, is the first building on campus named for an African-American person. Fred D. Brown Jr. served as the first director of the College of En gineering’s Minority Engineering Scholarship Program from 1975 to 1985.

7. Laurel Residence Hall (293,427 square feet)

In 2018, Laurel Hall was closed and its resi dents relocated due to elevated levels of mold, including black mold. Formerly housing dedi cated to married-student families, Laurel was reserved for upperclassmen until 2021, when

the housing lottery allowed first-year students to live there.

6. Stokely Hall (371,384 square feet)

Known for housing university athletes, this residence hall was dedicated to the Stokely family. Stokely family members have served the university at every level, including on the Board of Trustees, the Development Council and various advisory boards.

5. John C. Hodges Library (379,506 square feet)

The university’s main library contains over forty miles of bookshelves and capacity for over two million books. Its distinctive, blocky shape is known as a “ziggurat,” which were massive, terraced structures used for religious purposes by ancient Mesopotamians.

4. Student Union (395,088 square feet)

Construction began in 2012 on a new stu dent services and recreation center and was completed in two phases in 2015 and 2019, re spectively. It also led to the establishment and expansion of what is now known as Pedestrian Walkway

3. Thompson-Boling Arena (449,979 square feet)

The home of the university’s basketball teams was once the largest venue dedicated to the sport. Besides sporting events, it has played host to a number of prominent entertainers, including Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, the Jackson 5 and Dolly Parton.

2. Neyland Stadium (~550,000 square feet)

The stadium has come a long way since its first iteration, as Shields-Watkins Field, in 1921. With a capacity of 101,915, it is the second largest stadium in the Southeastern Conference (behind Texas A&M’s Kyle Field), the fifth larg

est stadium in the United States and the sev enth largest stadium in the entire world.

1. Volunteer Hall (742,382 square feet)

The largest building on campus, surpris ingly, is the impressive Volunteer Hall, which is an apartment-style dormitory. It began as a joint venture between the university and devel opment company Place Properties, eventually coming under the UT’s sole ownership in 2008.

The Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building is 191,425 square feet. File / The Daily Beacon

Stokely Hall is the 6th largest building at UT, with a gross area of 371,384 square feet. File / The Daily Beacon

The Mossman Building is the 12th largest on campus. File / The Daily Beacon

Plowman says athletic success, campus growth ‘interrelated’

DANIEL DASSOW Editor-in-Chief

As media outlets descended onto campus Friday ahead of the most-anticipated game in college football, Chancellor Donde Plow man sat down with alumnus and SEC Network host Paul Finebaum (‘78) on a live taping of his show to discuss the recent success of the foot ball team and the state of the university head ing into the home game against Alabama.

Plowman said the success of the football program was connected to successes in high enrollment rates, new construction and ex panded funding for research and development.

“There’s a lot going on, but it’s all inter related,” Plowman said. “Our enrollments are through the ceiling … we’re growing like crazy. So it all works together, I believe. So we’re in a good place. I like to say it this way: this univer sity is on the rise.”

For the first time since 1989, Tennessee and Alabama both headed into the “Third Saturday in October” game undefeated. For many, Sat urday’s game against Alabama was a test of the true power of the Vols in coach Josh Heupel’s second season. The Vols passed the test, de feating Alabama 52-49.

Plowman has been getting more atten

tion as a leader responsible for the resurgence of Tennessee Athletics success. At the Oct. 8 matchup against LSU at Tiger Stadium, Plow man was welcomed by a crowd of traveling UT fans with shouts of “Donde! Donde!”

Sitting before cameras outside ThompsonBoling Arena, Finebaum described UT as the “epicenter of college football today” and cred ited Plowman for her leadership, giving spe cific attention to her dismissal of former head coach Jeremy Pruitt and nine football staffers in January 2021 over recruiting violations.

“I have to give you enormous credit for do ing what was right and making changes that were necessary,” Finebaum said.

Pruitt was fired the same day that legendary coach Phillip Fulmer announced his retirement as athletics director. Only three days later, Plowman hired Danny White to take the posi tion. Four days later, White hired Josh Heupel as head coach.

Plowman said the instability and chaos of that time has paid off in the success of the foot ball, basketball and baseball programs under White’s leadership.

“Those were hard days and you never want to have to go through that, but I feel really strengthened by the joy that our fans are expe riencing right now,” Plowman said.

Shortly before joining Finebaum, Plowman presided over a ribbon-cutting ceremony for

the Zeanah Engineering Complex, a sprawling $129 million, 228,000-square-foot structure and one of the largest academic buildings on campus.

This fall, UT welcomed its largest student body in history. The university’s official news page is flush with stories on UT’s climbing po sition in national rankings.

Plowman said the university’s rising stature is related to the success of the football program and other athletics programs, since games at tract attention not only from media outlets such as ESPN’s College GameDay – which made its second Knoxville appearance this month – but also from prospective students.

“I believe good things feed off each other. Now, we’re the destination location all across the country for kids to come to school. And I say to people, wait til we’re really great at football, and then we’ll just be off the charts! So it all works together for good,” Plowman said.

Finebaum said alumni were not always proud of Tennessee, alluding to the short ten ure of former chancellor Beverly Davenport, who hired and later fired John Currie as athlet ics director, before she was terminated herself.

“There was a time when ... it was harder to keep up with the chancellor and president of this university than the football coach, cause they were always in revolution,” Finebaum said.

At a university where administration and athletics leadership have often changed from one year to the next, Plowman said it was her goal to provide the university with stability.

The suite of UT System President Randy Boyd, Plowman, Heupel and White have already overseen what many believe to be a renais sance of UT athletic prowess.

“I’m very aware that I’m the steward of this place. I’m the steward of these people’s hopes and their dreams,” Plowman said.

Chancellor Donde Plowman answers re porters’ questions during her post-Flagship Address interview, speaking further on the future of UT. Thursday Sept. 29, 2022. Alexandra Ashmore / The Daily Beacon

Twitter account documents Dunford Hall’s final year

FRANCES SEITERS

“Death of Dunford” is a Twitter account and community-sourced art project created by Monica Black, UT history professor, to docu ment the final year of the historic Dunford Hall.

UT has initiated a design phase in the fall that will replace Dunford, Greve and Henson Halls with a new building for the Haslam Col lege of Business. The plan includes construc tion to start in 2023. The history department, Humanities Center, Student Disability Services and many other offices will be relocated, but faculty are unsure of what the university has planned for them.

“Dunford has been the home of the history department, one of the largest departments in the largest college at UTK, for more than a quarter century,” Black said. “When our build ing comes down, we will no longer have a de partmental home. We will be housed in offices scattered around campus.”

Nicole Eggers, assistant professor of history, explained the conflict of decisions regarding the historic buildings.

“The challenge that the university really faces is the challenge of preserving its history and its uniqueness while also meeting some of

these new space challenges that come from a growing student population,” Eggers said.

In 2012, the university created a plan to ren ovate Melrose Hall to provide space for the Hu manities Center, but this plan has since been delayed to focus on other renovations.

Katie Hodges-Kluck, communications

and marketing coordinator for the Humani ties Center, expressed her confusion with the change of plans.

“Here we are a decade later and now we’re finding out business is getting a new building and displacing all of us that were told we’d have a home ten years ago,” Hodges-Kluck said.

The programs that are currently housed in Dunford Hall will be spread across campus. Hodges-Kluck said many faculty and staff have considered leaving the university in reac tion to the news.

“I mean you’re going to drive away our de partment stars and what do you tell potential faculty? Come to UT! We don’t have a place for you but a cubicle!” Hodges-Kluck said.

As the programs wait for a specific plan of relocation, the Twitter account continues to document the university’s complicated handling of Dunford. “Death of Dunford” retweeted a tweet by former history professor Bob Hutton that appreciates the older building compared to the newer ones.

““It was a catch-all academic building and working there felt academic. I’ll take that over some crisp, orderly ‘space stationey’ building any day,” Hutton said in the tweet.

Dunford Hall was built in 1963 as one of the first women’s dorms on campus. It was named after Professor Ralph Dunford in recognition of his contributions to give housing to veterans coming back from World War II.

“If the university is going to take these buildings away, they need to reckon with the history that exists in them ... and not just tear down the past to build some future that’s going we don’t know where,” Eggers said.

Dunford Hall is home to the history department, the Humanities Center and many other aca demic offices. Photo taken on Tuesday Oct. 11, 2022. Edward Cruz / The Daily Beacon

Triumphant Vols look ahead to Martin

2022

PICK ‘EM

Tennessee 63 vs. UT Martin 10 Clemson vs. Syracuse Ole Miss vs. LSU UCLA vs. Oregon

Mississippi State vs. Alabama Texas vs. Oklahoma State Kansas State vs. TCU

Hendon Hooker No. 5 and Jacob Warren No. 87 celebrate after a touchdown against Alabama on Oct. 15, 2022 in Neyland Stadium. Nolan Keesee / The Daily Beacon

ANDREW PETERS Sports Editor

After getting the biggest win of the Josh Heupel era against Alabama on Saturday, No. 3 Tennessee now gets to catch its breath against UT Martin on Saturday at noon.

The Vols won in dramatic fashion on a field goal as time expired to cap off the 52-49 shootout and fans stormed the field.

The Vols were near perfect in the final stretch of the game, putting together a drive down the field to set up the Chase McGrath field goal.

“You practice those things in training camp,” Heupel said. “How you want to function and operate in a lot of different scenarios. It’s impossible to give those guys those scenarios every single week. Love the fact that our kids understood what we were trying to accomplish. From wideouts, to quarterback, to protection up front, able to go execute in those situations.”

Tennessee now gets ready to host in-state foe UT Martin, which sits at the top of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Tennessee heads into the game 6-0 for the first time since 1998, when it went undefeated on its way to a National Championship. The Vols face the Skyhawks for just the second time in program history, and they won their only other contest 50-0 in 2010.

The Vols offense continues to heat up as Tennessee posted its third game of the season scoring more than 50 points. Tennessee has the No. 1 offense in the nation and shows no signs of slowing down. Despite these feats, Heupel is still looking for ways to get better.

“Obviously, from the outside looking in everybody is excited about the win,” Heupel said. “From the inside looking forward, we have a lot of things that we have an opportunity to get a whole lot better at and the challenge for us is to become our best. We are in the early stages of that.”

The game shouldn’t be difficult for Tennessee, but it presents an opportunity to clean things up before back-to-back games against

Kentucky and Georgia.

“The reason that we have been able to play and find a way to win each week is their preparation has been good, not perfect, but been really good,” Heupel said. “That urgency, that focus, as we get our game plan and get on the practice field here in the early part of the week is going to be critical.”

The Skyhawks also present some challenges to the Vols, mainly on the offensive side of the ball. UT Martin averages 37.5 points per game and 485.5 yards per game on the season.

“For us defensively and them offensively, they’ve put up a bunch of points, a bunch of yards here in the first half of the season,” Heupel said. “The line of scrimmage is going to be important. We got to apply pressure to the quarterback and got to be able to match guys out on the outside on the perimeter.”

Saturday’s homecoming game will garnish the return of many alumni and former players. The game will also honor the 50-year anniversary of Title IX and Pat Summitt’s legacy at Tennessee.

“It’s unique too that this is a celebration of Title IX and obviously Pat Summitt and her legacy in sports and her legacy here at UT is really special and we’ll have a chance to celebrate that, too,” Heupel said. “Looking forward to that this weekend.”

Tennessee 52 vs. UT Martin 3

Clemson vs. Syracuse Ole Miss vs. LSU UCLA vs. Oregon

Mississippi State vs. Alabama Texas vs. Oklahoma State Kansas State vs. TCU

Tennessee 56 vs. UT Martin 7

Clemson vs. Syracuse Ole Miss vs. LSU UCLA vs. Oregon

Mississippi State vs. Alabama Texas vs. Oklahoma State Kansas State vs. TCU

Tennessee 90 vs. UT Martin 0 Clemson vs. Syracuse Ole Miss vs. LSU UCLA vs. Oregon

Mississippi State vs. Alabama Texas vs. Oklahoma State Kansas State vs. TCU

Tennessee 52 vs. UT Martin 10 Clemson vs. Syracuse Ole Miss vs. LSU UCLA vs. Oregon

Mississippi State vs. Alabama Texas vs. Oklahoma State Kansas State vs. TCU

Tennessee 59 vs. UT Martin 10 Clemson vs. Syracuse Ole Miss vs. LSU UCLA vs. Oregon

Mississippi State vs. Alabama Texas vs. Oklahoma State Kansas State vs. TCU

Kailee Harris Digital Producer (20-15)

Andrew Peters Sports Editor (23-19)

Jack Church Contributor (30-12)

Josh Lane Former Sports Editor (22-20)

Bella Hughes Design Editor (23-19)

Eric Woods Asst. Sports Editor (30-12)

“It’s unique too that this is a celebration of Title IX and obviously Pat Summitt and her legacy in sports and her legacy here at UT is really special and we’ll have a chance to celebrate that.”

Head Coach Josh Heupel