Ian Munsick‘s “Long Haul” – which is from his album Coyote Cry – is a fan favorite…
and Ian said his goal when it came to the music on the project was that he wanted to infuse the musical vibe that he grew up with in his home state in the songs, “This album was so much fun to create. Bringing the Wyoming story to the rest of the world is one that I will always try my best to do. I hope that you guys love listening to it as much as I loved making it.”
Check out the music video for Ian Munsick’s “Long Haul.”
ATLANTA (July 15, 2021) – The Syracuse Orange and Tennessee Volunteers are scheduled to meet for the first time in 24 years in the 2025 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. The matchup will be played Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and will be televised by either ABC or ESPN. An exact kick time will be finalized at a later date.
The 2025 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game will mark the fourth time Syracuse and Tennessee have faced each other, but will be the first meeting between the two programs since 2001. Tennessee leads the all-time series 3-0, including a 33-9 win over the Orange in the most recent matchup. The Orange and Volunteers also previously met in a thrilling 34-33 Tennessee win during the Volunteers’ 1998 National Championship run and an 18-12 Volunteer victory during the 1966 season.
“Syracuse and Tennessee have a history of playing thrilling contests when the two programs meet and we expect that to be the case again with their game to open the 2025 season here in Atlanta,” said Bob Somers, Peach Bowl, Inc. chairman. “Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be a raging sea of orange when these two programs clash for the first time in more than two decades.”
“We’re looking forward to having Tennessee back in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game and welcoming Syracuse for the first time,” Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and President Gary Stokan said. “Thank you to Dino Babers and John Wildhack of Syracuse, as well as Josh Heupel and Danny White from Tennessee, for making this game possible.”
Syracuse vs. Tennessee will be the first of two ACC vs. SEC matchups during the 2025 Kickoff Series, preceding the Virginia Tech vs. South Carolina game later that weekend. This will mark the sixth double-header in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game’s history and the fourth time it has featured two ACC vs. SEC contests in the same weekend.
“I can’t think of a better way to start the 2025 season than with two ACC-SEC matchups in Atlanta, the Capital of College Football,” Stokan said. “Our city has grown to be a showcase for some of college football’s marquee matchups each year and 2025 looks to carry on that tradition.”
The 2025 matchup against Tennessee will represent Syracuse’s first-ever appearance in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game and the Orange will be the 10th ACC program to play in the game.
“Scheduling this game is a great opportunity for our program,” said Syracuse Head Football Coach Dino Babers. “Getting an opportunity to open the 2025 season on a national stage and in Mercedes-Benz Stadium is something that our players and fans can really look forward to and be excited about.”
“To kick off the 2025 season in one of the nation’s premier season-opening neutral site games is exciting for our student-athletes and for our program,” said Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack. “We look forward to playing in this event in front our Orange fans in the greater Atlanta area, which is among the strongest Syracuse alumni contingents in the country.”
Tennessee will be making its third appearance in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. The Volunteers defeated NC State 35-21 in 2012 and then won a double-overtime thriller 42-41 against Georgia Tech in 2017.
It will represent the SEC’s 20th appearance in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, with the conference currently boasting a 13-2 record in the game, including a 10-1 mark over ACC teams.
“The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is one of the premier events in all of college football,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. “Opening a season in Atlanta in a venue of this caliber against an excellent opponent will generate tremendous excitement within our program and among our players. We look forward to a massive turnout from Vol Nation in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2025.”
“I’m very excited to see a whole lot of orange in Mercedes-Benz Stadium,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said. “I cannot wait for Tennessee fans to take over Atlanta for the weekend and support the Vols against a quality opponent in a venue we hope to frequent as Josh and his staff work to restore our program. I am also looking forward to working with Gary Stokan and his staff for this exciting event.”
Each team will receive its own ticket allotment to the game and additional tickets will be sold through the Peach Bowl, Inc. ticket office. Tickets will be available for public sale early in 2025.
The teams will battle for The Old Leather Helmet Trophy, one of college football’s newest rivalry-style icons. Traditionally, winners of The Old Leather Helmet don the helmet on the field after the game, starting with the head coach and then rotating from player to player as the team celebrates its victory.
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game averages more than 69,170 fans for each game – higher than 36 bowl games from the 2019-20 Bowl Season – and an additional 78.4 million television viewers since 2008. Total team payouts average $5.2 million – higher than 26 bowl games during the 2019-20 Bowl Season – with more than $67 million in payouts over its history.
-UT Athletics via Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Communications
Luke Combs has “been on one hell of a redneck roll” for several years now.
He’s been cranking out one massive hit after another – in fact he’s just coming off a 6-week run at number-one on the Billboard Country Airplay Chart with “Forever After All.”
All that success has been great for Luke – and his parents. He makes no secret of the close relationship he has with his mom and dad, so when the opportunity came to make things a little easier for them…Luke took it, “I helped both of my parents retire, which has been a really amazing experience…and that decision was solely predicated off being able to spend more time with my parents as they get older, and watching that happen has been not only a joy for me, but a great way for them to have the financial freedom and the ability to come out and experience some of these awesome things that I get to do, you know, right by my side. Which I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
So, along with any country music trophies he wins, Luke will always have the “Best Son In The World” award from his parents.
Luke’s follow single to “Forever After All” will be “Cold As You” – which you can check out a special acoustic version of the track here…
Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney are brimming with talent, and while they credit each other with helping their collaboration as Dan + Shay work so well, Shay shares that the musical seeds in his life were planted by his family.
He says, “I did come from a very musical family, pretty much everyone in my whole family…extended family everybody does something in music it was great growing I mean there were so many people that I looked up to musically that were so much better than me and I think that obviously helped me get where I wanted to be because there was so many people who were amazing at music thanks family for that.”
Fans can’t wait for the guys to hit the road – as their The (Arena) Tour kicks off in September in South Carolina.
Dan + Shay’s latest track, “Glad You Exist” is now a Top-10 (and climbing) hit…
Country music can create such a universal connection that artists don’t always have to write the songs they sing – they just to have to find the ones that speak to them in a special way.
Justin Moore found that kind of connection when he heard his current single “We Didn’t Have Much.”
Justin shares that he loved the track from the get-go, “First and foremost, I loved the song and I really related to the song when I heard it.”
Listening to the lyrics he found his own story of growing up, “I don’t think it’s any secret, I grew up really rural, close to my family, small town. I mean, we did the cliché stuff, eatin’ dinner together, and I did it begrudgingly. But I had to explain to my parents how school was every day and all those things, all the stuff that I annoy my own children with now. And I thought that the song really expressed the beauty that is leading a more simple life. And so I’ve learned throughout my career that if I’m goin’ through somethin’ or if I relate to somethin’, it seems to be somethin’ that a lot of folks relate to.”
Justin is back out playing shows – and fans are loving this one live in concert…”We Didn’t Have Much.”
Country music tours are returning to venues near you, and along with fans being excited – the artists are just as happy to be back performing.
Caylee Hammack is one of those singers who had her life and career interrupted for the last year and half, but she couldn’t be more happy about opening for Luke Bryan on his Proud To Be Right Here tour
Caylee says, “Getting to open up for Luke, it’s unreal. I feel like I’m living in a dream, just getting to do what I love which is sharing music with people and getting to do that on a stage with Luke Bryan, this is truly a dream come true.”
She adds, “I can’t say how thankful I am, because every time I go on stage and I see someone singing back these songs that I released during the pandemic and I haven’t got to truly perform for people since it has come out, it just makes me giddy. It makes me so very happy and so grateful that I get to do what I love again.”
The Proud To Be Right Here tour rolls on this weekend with stops in Connecticut (Friday), Virginia (Saturday) and New Jersey (Sunday).
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Three members of the Tennessee softball program were recognized on the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Teams, the organization announced earlier this month. Amanda Ayala, Ashley Rogers and Chelsea Seggern represented the Lady Vols on the District 3 First Team.
CoSIDA’s Academic All-District teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. District 3 consists of NCAA Division I schools in the states of North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
A four-year starter for the Lady Vols and three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, Ayala picks up her first career Academic All-District award. The outfielder from Bloomfield, New Jersey, posted career-best numbers across the board in 2021 with 57 hits, 37 runs scored, 11 doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 32 RBIs. She also stood out in the classroom, rounding out her bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology with a 3.49 cumulative GPA.
Rogers had an All-American campaign and was one of the top pitchers in the nation this past spring. She led the SEC with a 1.32 ERA while ranking second in the league with 296 strikeouts, 26 wins and eight shutouts. Accolades for Rogers in 2021 included Second Team NFCA All-America, First Team NFCA All-Region and First Team All-SEC honors. Through three years on Rocky Top, the Athens, Tennessee, native is a three-time member of the SEC Honor Roll and maintains a perfect 4.0 GPA in kinesiology.
A 2021 graduate of the University of Tennessee, Seggern claims her third consecutive Academic All-District award from CoSIDA. The fifth-year senior infielder from Thrall, Texas, played and started 254 games from 2017-21 and finished her career ranking second in Tennessee history with 67 career doubles. She also owns the program record with 40 career HBP.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Southeastern Conference office announced Wednesday that redshirt senior wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. and senior defensive back Alontae Taylor will join head coach Josh Heupel to represent the Vols at the 2021 SEC Football Media Days next week in Birmingham, Alabama.
Tennessee’s trio will make the media rounds Tuesday, July 20 at The Wynfrey Hotel. ESPN and SEC Network will provide live coverage of the event, with Coach Heupel set to make his Media Days debut on the main podium at 11:30 a.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. CT.
Jones and Taylor will also be making their first appearances at SEC Media Days, as all three Tennessee representatives are scheduled to visit with local, regional and national members of the media to preview the upcoming season.
The Josh Heupel era gets underway Thursday, September 2, when the Vols host Bowling Green at Neyland Stadium. A 2018 National Coach of the Year finalist and dynamic offensive playcaller, Heupel spent the past three seasons at UCF and compiled a 28-8 record with the Knights while going 19-5 against members of the American Athletic Conference. As a player, Heupel led Oklahoma to a national championship in 2001 and was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2000.
A versatile receiver and dynamic return specialist, Jones elected to return for his sixth season at the collegiate level and second with the Vols in 2021. Last season, he played all 10 games with six starts, ranking third on the team in receptions (22) and receiving yards (280) while finishing second on the team in receiving touchdowns (three). Jones also led the SEC in kickoff return yards (398) and was second in the league in kickoff return average (22.11). The Saraland, Alabama, native had a breakout performance at Vanderbilt, setting career-highs with seven catches, 125 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.
One of Tennessee’s defensive leaders on and off the field, Taylor has played 33 games with 19 starts since 2018. The senior from Manchester, Tennessee, has racked up 102 tackles, four tackles for loss, 11 passes defended and a pair of interceptions and forced fumbles over the past three seasons. He was selected to the 2020-21 SEC Football Leadership Council and recently completed his second term as vice chair.
