The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees on Friday approved Tennessee Athletics’ request to increase the budget for phase 1 of the historic Neyland Stadium renovation project by $49 million to $337 million.
The project aligns with Tennessee Athletics’ stated goals of modernizing the fan and visitor experience through enhanced amenities and diversified seating options, improving fan safety and security and aligning stadium features and aesthetics with campus architectural standards.
Last fall, guests at Neyland Stadium observed a totally new state-of-the-art videoboard in the stadium’s north upper deck, enhanced video components in the existing south videoboard and the introduction of two new premium amenities in the lower-west club and upper-north social deck.
Future updates feature necessary upgrades to the south side and perimeter of the stadium, including the widening of concourses, construction of expanded gates and entryways and additional restrooms and concessions areas. The delivery of this component will dramatically improve fan comfort and safety, reduce wait times and allow for more food and beverage offerings.
Following overwhelmingly positive feedback on initial concept renderings released last summer, Tennessee Athletics is poised to move forward on a transformational renovation project at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees on Friday approved the renovation budget and work will commence this August.
Concurrent with the renovation planning, a series of stadium improvements were completed prior to the 2023 season to upgrade the student-athlete experience with an upgraded locker room and weight room along with a third level of porches for fans in the outfield.
Through a multi-year construction process, Lindsey Nelson Stadium will transform into one of the premier college baseball venues in the country with world-class player development areas, multiple new gates, increased seating capacity to approximately 7,600 fans, wider concourses, more concession stands and restrooms and new luxurious premium-seating offerings.
“The interest and excitement surrounding our plans for the new-look Lindsey Nelson Stadium have been overwhelming,” Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said. “After seeking additional input from Vol Nation through our fan surveys, it was apparent that we needed to think even bigger. But one thing we’ve been strategic about throughout this process is ensuring that the final product provides our team with the most unique and tangible homefield advantage in college baseball. Our fans and students always make their presence felt—and we want to maximize their impact on winning ballgames.”
The project’s guiding principle is to craft a first-class ballpark experience featuring innovative design solutions that inspire both fans and players to experience Tennessee baseball gamedays in new and exciting ways while simultaneously boosting the program’s ability to attract and retain elite student-athletes driven to succeed on and off the diamond.
“Since arriving in Knoxville, our staff, in combination with the university’s support, have earmarked player development as priority number one,” Vols head coach and two-time National Coach of the Year Tony Vitello said. “With these proposed renovations, our player development areas will go from some of the best in the country to a truly elite status. And this is only a portion of the extensive work that ultimately will result in a facility worthy of its fan base.
“The players we have been blessed to coach here have created a significant need for increased capacity. To date, our fans have been arguably the rowdiest in the country. Now, similar to our football and basketball facilities, we will have seating capacity that is more appropriate to house not just passion of our fans but the quantity, as well.”
Based on both fan feedback and construction market conditions, the project scope and budget has increased since last summer’s initial proposal. Multiple scope elements will ultimately assist in funding portions of the project’s growth.
Projected seating capacity has grown to over 6,100 permanent seats with the ability to provide standing room access for an additional 1,600 spectators. In addition to expanding traditional seating areas, a primary focus is to provide a diversity of seating products including new premium-seating options including an expanded MVP Room, a club level that seats close to 800 spectators, and multiple tiers of four-seat tabletop seating (4topps) overlooking third base.
Plans also call for expanded concourse space and an increase in concessions locations and restrooms to accommodate the additional foot traffic. The project will also provide upgrades to back of house and media areas.
The addition of an on-site kitchen also delivers the ability to significantly enhance concessions quality and variety for guests—venue-wide—throughout the season.
Finally, two entry gates—including one specifically for student use—will be added to facilitate both the expanded long-term capacity as well as fan ingress and egress during the project’s phased construction.
The project budget totals $95.8 million.
Since being named head coach of Tennessee’s baseball program, Vitello has led the Big Orange back to national prominence and has helped establish the Volunteers as an SEC and national power, leading the program to four NCAA Regionals (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023), three consecutive NCAA Super Regionals (2021, 2022, 2023) and the program’s sixth Men’s College World Series appearance (2023). It marked the second time in the last three seasons that Vitello has led the Vols to Omaha.
Tennessee baseball fans that are interested in supporting the stadium project and/or contributing to the program’s baseball excellence fund can visit the Tennessee Fund website or call (865) 974-1218 for information.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – ESPN revealed the first glimpse of Tennessee’s 2023-24 women’s hoops schedule on Wednesday morning, announcing the Lady Vols will play host to Notre Dame on Nov. 29 as part of a 14-game ACC-SEC Women’s Basketball Challenge.
The Big Orange and the Fighting Irish are slated to play at 5 ET on that Wednesday evening, battling in one of four games tipping at that early time. The broadcast designation will be released later.
Both teams enter the upcoming campaign with lofty expectations after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2022-23. Notre Dame is ranked No. 10 in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25, while Tennessee is slotted at No. 12 in that poll with its placement by that organization occurring before two-time All-ACC performer Jewel Spear of Wake Forest announced she was joining the Lady Vols. The ESPN rankings haven’t been updated since that time.
UT returns nine players, including six who started games a year ago. Six-foot-two, fifth-year forward Rickea Jackson, who earned All-America honorable mention, first-team All-SEC and Cheryl Miller Award top-five finalist accolades a year ago after averaging 19.2 ppg. and 6.1 rpg., is back to set the tone for the Big Orange.
Tamari Key, a 6-6 interior force on both ends of the floor, returns to action after last season ended in her ninth game due to medical reasons. She is a two-time SEC All-Defensive Team member, a 2022 Lisa Leslie Award finalist and 2022 All-SEC honoree. UT also welcomes back its fourth- and fifth-leading scorers in 6-1 senior wing Tess Darby (7.4 ppg., 70 3FGs) and 6-5 junior forward Jillian Hollingshead (6.2 ppg., 4.4 rpg.).
Newcomers include Spear and fellow senior guard Destinee Wells (Belmont), and sophomore guard/forward Avery Strickland (Pitt). Spear and Wells were ranked No. 7 and No. 19 by 247Sports among top transfers and along with Strickland helped Tennessee card the No. 6-ranked transfer class nationally, according to 247Sports analyst Brandon Clay.
UND, meanwhile, returns its top three leading scorers in Sonia Citron (14.7 ppg., 5.5 rpg.), Olivia Miles (14.3 ppg., 7.3 rpg., 6.9 apg.) and Maddy Westbeld (11.2 ppg., 6.6 rpg.) from a squad that went 27-6 overall and 15-3 in ACC play. The Irish are led by fourth-year head coach Niele Ivey.
Tennessee is 22-8 all-time vs. Notre Dame, including 1-0 through four complete years under Kellie Harper. The LVFL guided her first UT squad to a 74-63 signature road victory over the Muffet McGraw-helmed No. 15/14 Irish on Nov. 11, 2019. Ivey took the reins from McGraw after that season, and the two programs will meet in 2023 for the first occasion since then.
Matchups for the inaugural men’s basketball ACC/SEC Challenge were revealed Wednesday, with Tennessee selected to play at North Carolina on Nov. 29.
The new ACC/SEC Challenge replaces the now defunct SEC/Big 12 Challenge, which was contested from 2014-23. The Volunteers and Tar Heels will tipoff from the Dean E. Smith Center at 7:15 p.m. ET on the ESPN family of networks.
Tennessee has won just twice in 12 all-time games against North Carolina. The Vols triumphed in the most recent meeting, riding an 18-point performance from then-freshman point guard Zakai Zeigler to a 17-point win over the 18th-ranked Tar Heels at the 2021 Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off in Connecticut.
In its most recent trip to Chapel Hill, UT led for nearly 31 minutes before a late North Carolina surge lifted seventh-ranked UNC to a 73-71 victory on Dec. 11, 2016. Tennessee’s only other visits to Chapel Hill came in 1947 and 1911.
The Vols now will play at least two ACC foes next season. It was previously announced that Tennessee will face NC State in San Antonio, Texas, on Dec. 16. It is also possible that UT could match up against Syracuse at the Maui Invitational the week of Thanksgiving.
Tennessee is 114-100 all-time against current members of the ACC. Vols head coach Rick Barnes—a native of Hickory, North Carolina—owns a 75-75 head coaching record against ACC opposition, including a 7-12 mark vs. UNC.
A pair of current Vols also hail from the state of North Carolina. Junior forward Jonas Aidoo grew up in Durham, and freshman guard Freddie Dilione V is from Fayetteville.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Tennessee’s 2023-24 women’s basketball home and away SEC opponents have been revealed, as the conference office announced Wednesday morning each school’s league foes for the upcoming campaign.
As part of the 16-game SEC schedule, the Lady Vols feature home contests vs. Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
On the road, UT will play against Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
The schedule consists of a single round robin (10 games) of home and away with one permanent opponent (2 games) and two rotating opponents (4 games). In addition to its permanent home-and-home rival, Vanderbilt, Tennessee plays its rotating home-and-away contests against South Carolina and Texas A&M during the upcoming campaign. The rotating opponents change annually.
The upcoming conference season marks the 15th year of the 16‐game schedule for women’s basketball and the 12th with 14 teams. Times, dates and television information for the 2023-24 SEC schedule will be released at a later date, as will the complete Lady Vol non-conference slate.
Three of the league opponents UT will face are ranked among ESPN’s “Way-Too-Early Top 25,” including LSU at No. 1, South Carolina at No. 8 and Ole Miss at No. 11. Tennessee is ranked No. 12 in the May 2 edition of the ESPN poll, which was published before Jewel Spear signed with Tennessee and hasn’t been updated since then.
UT returns nine players, including six who started games a year ago, from a squad that finished 25-12 overall and 13-3 in the SEC (3rd) while defeating LSU and advancing to its first SEC Tournament title game since 2015 and the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the second consecutive season. It did so despite losing 6-foot-6 center Tamari Key for the year after nine games.
In terms of personnel, the Lady Vols return fifth-year forward Rickea Jackson, an All-America honorable mention selection and All-SEC First Team choice who led the team in scoring at 19.2 ppg. and pulled down 6.1 rpg., as well as a two-time SEC All-Defensive Team and 2022 Coaches All-SEC Second Team choice in redshirt senior Key (8.4 ppg., 4.2 rpg., 66.7 FG% during a 2022-23 year that ended early for medical reasons). Key is the school’s all-time record-holder for blocked shots in a season (119) and career (295) and is among its leaders in field goal percentage as well.
Newcomers include senior guards Jewel Spear and Destinee Wells, and sophomore guard/forward Avery Strickland. Spear and Wells were ranked No. 7 and No. 19 by 247Sports among top transfers and along with Strickland helped Tennessee secure the No. 6-ranked transfer class nationally, according to 247Sports analyst Brandon Clay.
Spear, a two-time All-ACC and ACC All-Tournament Team honoree during her three seasons at Wake Forest, put up 16.5 ppg.. 3.7 rpg., 1.8 apg. and 93 three-pointers in 2022-23 while leading the Demon Deacons in scoring and ranking fifth in the ACC in points per game.
Wells was a three-time all-conference performer at Belmont who produced 19.5 ppg., 4.9 apg. and 65 treys in 2022-23, including 32.4 ppg. over the last five games during postseason tournament play. She shot career bests of 48.6 percent from the field and 45.5 percent on threes while draining 86.1 percent at the charity stripe a year ago.
Strickland appeared in 30 contests at Pitt last season, contributing 6.2 ppg., 1.7 rpg. and 39 threes. During the last six games of the 2022-23 campaign, she increased her production to 8.3 points and 2.5 rebounds, drained 11 three-pointers and shot 45 percent overall and 42.3 percent on treys.
Fans interested in being part of the highly-anticipated action at Thompson-Boling Arena are encouraged to click HERE for ticket information.
With the NCAA’s athletic year complete, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) published the final 2022-23 LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup standings Wednesday, and Tennessee locked in its best finish ever at No. 6.
Tennessee last posted a top-10 Directors’ Cup finish in 2006-07 when it landed at a previous-best No. 7.
With 1,078.75 total points this year—accumulated thanks to scoring contributions of at least 25 points by 19 different teams—Tennessee finished second among SEC schools.
For a team-by-team scoring breakdown, see the sidebar HERE.
Tennessee sat in 10th place when NACDA posted its previous standings update on June 13. And thanks to the Volunteers baseball program netting 78 points with its run to the College World Series, UT leapfrogged Michigan, USC, North Carolina and Georgia in the final standings.
“Competitive excellence is a major priority in Rise Glorious, our comprehensive five-year strategic plan, and to record our best LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup finish ever is an incredible achievement,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said. “It’s important to us to cultivate a championship culture across all 20 of our sports, and this finish is a prime example of that. Congratulations to our student-athletes, coaches and staff on this record finish. Buckle up Vol Nation, we’re just getting started, and it’s going to be one heck of a ride!”
The Big Orange have steadily ascended in the Directors’ Cup standings over the last three years since the competition was canceled in 2019-20. Tennessee finished 26th in 2020-21 and 13th a year ago.
Tennessee’s consecutive top-15 finishes align with one of the strategies outlined in the department’s Rise Glorious Strategic Plan, published last July. Under its Competitive Excellence priority, the plan aspires for UT to “finish in the top 15 [in the Directors’ Cup] in three out of every five years.”
This latest achievement relating to competitive excellence comes just a month after Tennessee won its second consecutive SEC All-Sports title. In doing so, it became only the second school ever to sweep both the men’s and women’s SEC All-Sports standings.
SEATTLE – In just his first season of professional baseball, VFL Drew Gilbert was selected to participate in the 2023 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at T-Mobile Park during the Major League Baseball All-Star Week in Seattle, Washington. The game will be played on Saturday, July 8 at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast exclusively on Peacock.
The Futures Game is in its 24th year and puts the stars of tomorrow on the Big-League field as part of All-Star Week while they are still advancing through the minor leagues. In the 2023 edition of the Futures Game, 28 of the 50 participants are currently ranked in MLB Pipeline’s Top-100 Prospect Rankings. Gilbert currently sits at No. 76 on that list.
Gilbert becomes the fifth former Volunteer to be selected for the game, joining Nick Senzel (2017), Christin Stewart (2016), Luke Hochevar (2007) and Chris Burke (2003, 2004). Each of those four players was called up to the Major Leagues within two years and Hochevar was a September call-up for Kansas City in the 2007 season.
On the season, Gilbert is hitting .265 with eight home runs, 28 RBIs, 57 hits and 42 runs scored. The top-ranked prospect in the Astros’ farm system started the year with High-A Asheville and in just over a month he secured a promotion to Double-A Corpus Christi. Gilbert will play on the American League team which is coached by Harold Reynolds.
Gilbert was a first-round selection by Houston in the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft and was taken with the No. 28 overall pick after an All-American collegiate career at Tennessee.
The Southeastern Conference released each school’s conference opponents for the upcoming 2023-24 men’s basketball season Monday.
As part of the 18-game league schedule, Tennessee’s home slate features games against Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
The Vols have scheduled conference road trips at Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
In addition to its three permanent home-and-home opponents—Kentucky, South Carolina and Vanderbilt—Tennessee will also play home-and-home series against Alabama and Texas A&M during the 2023-24 season.
Dates, tipoff times and television information for the SEC portion of UT’s schedule will be released at a later date.
Coming off a season in which it made a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, Tennessee is primed for another strong showing in its ninth season under head coach Rick Barnes in 2023-24.
Barnes and his staff will deploy a new-look roster, led by Josiah-Jordan James, two-time All-SEC guard Santiago Vescovi and point guard Zakai Zeigler, a two-time SEC All-Defensive Team selection.
The Vols also added three newcomers with Division I experience via the NCAA Transfer Portal in guards Jordan Gainey (USC Upstate) and Dalton Knecht (Northern Colorado) and forward Chris Ledlum (Harvard).
Additionally, Tennessee welcomes three true freshmen newcomers in guard Cameron Carr and forwards J.P. Estrella and Cade Phillips.
Fans interested in being a part of the action at Thompson-Boling Arena next season are encouraged to click HERE.
Tennessee basketball freshman Julian Phillips was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 35th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft Thursday night, with his contract rights ultimately acquired by the Chicago Bulls.
In his lone season with the Volunteers, the Blythewood, South Carolina, native saw action in 32 games, making 25 starts, and averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting .411 from the field in 24.1 minutes per game. Phillips scored in double figures 13 times and grabbed 10 or more rebounds three times while helping lead UT to the Sweet Sixteen.
Vols who have previously suited up for the Chicago Bulls include Tom Boerwinkle (1977-78), Tony White (1987-88) and C.J. Watson (2012-13).
Seven Vols have now heard their names called in the last five NBA Drafts—the most picks over a five-year span in program history. Tennessee’s seven picks over that span are tied for fourth-most among all schools nationwide.
Phillips this past season was shooting .347 from the field entering SEC play but improved his field-goal percentage to .500 spanning the 14 league games in which he appeared, leading to SEC All-Freshman Team honors.
He dominated during Tennessee’s thrilling overtime win vs. USC at the Battle 4 Atlantis in November, scoring a season-high 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting and grabbing eight rebounds. He also shot 10-for-12 at the free-throw line to power UT past the Trojans. Phillips made the Battle 4 Atlantis All-Tournament Team after averaging a team-best 13.3 points in the Vols’ three wins.
At the NBA Draft Combine in May, Phillips posted the best standing vertical leap (36 inches) and best max vertical leap (43 inches) among all combine participants. It marked the third straight year that a Tennessee Volunteer—trained by Director of Sports Performance Garrett Medenwald—posted the highest max vertical leap at the combine.
The number of NBA Draft picks produced by Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes now rises to 31 dating to 1990. Among active college head coaches, Barnes has developed the fourth-most NBA Draft picks. Over the last 14 years, Barnes has seen 14 of his players selected.
Barnes has now coached nine one-and-done players as a head coach. Of Barnes’ eight one-and-done players already in the NBA, four have won at least one NBA championship.
Deputy Chief of Professional Standards Brooklyn Sawyers Belk
Courtesy (City of Knoxville)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) The woman behind some big changes within the Knoxville Police Department is stepping down from her position in July.
KPD today announced that Brooklyn Belk will step away from her role as the Department’s Deputy Chief of Professional Standards effective July 16th.
Belk was named to the new position in February; despite her short time on the job, she is credited with helping to better the internal investigations process, initiating multiple innovative department-wide training opportunities, and chairing the internal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion working group.
Knoxville Police Department Chief Paul Noel praised the University of Tennessee law professor and former federal prosecutor.
“I am truly grateful to Brooklyn for her contributions, which were significant,” said Noel. “She invested a lot in our department and quickly became a valued and trusted member of our executive leadership team. Brooklyn leaves behind big shoes to fill.”
City of Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon also thanked Belk for her efforts over the last five months.
“I want to thank Brooklyn for all that she has accomplished in a short amount of time,” said Kincannon. “The changes that she has helped implement in the last few months have contributed to a stronger foundation for a more efficient and accountable police force. I wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.”
In today’s release from the Department, Belk offered thanks and praise of her own, noting that she would remain available in a consulting role if and when needed.
“Law enforcement’s roles as both protector and servant are vital to a thriving and safe community. I appreciate Chief Noel and Mayor Kincannon for the opportunity to use my expertise to make real contributions to this work at the Knoxville Police Department. As I move forward to the next steps in my career as an advocate, litigator, and educator, I will continue to be a resource for the KPD leadership team and my predecessor, if ever called upon, and look forward to seeing the Police Department grow and prosper with this community under the Mayor and Chief Noel’s leadership. I will miss those with whom I worked most closely. I wish the entire team, civilian and uniformed staff, particularly the Office of Professional Standards’ Captain Brian Evans and his team, great success and safety.“
The process of identifying and selecting Belk’s successor is underway. Qualified applicants from across the country will be considered for the position, which is appointed by the Chief of Police.
