Strang Nicklin, from Chattanooga, transferred from the University of North Carolina to UT in 1896. He was captain of the first undefeated football team in 1896 (four games). He was the first UT athlete to play major league baseball and the first to play in a World Series game. Because some of his family objected … Continued

David Collins, architect with McCarty Holsaple McCarty Inc. at the time, calculated the cubic yards of area in the “seating bowl” to be 1.35 million in 2009.

The nickname for UT athletic teams and groups is “The Volunteers.” In the final road game of the 1902 season (UT vs. Georgia Tech) T. B. Green scored a touchdown in the game’s final five minutes to give UT a 10-6 victory. The next day, the Atlanta Constitution referred to the UT team as The … Continued

In 1984, in the third quarter of the Washington State game, some fans began to yell “start the wave,” and after a couple of feeble attempts, it took off and created the first Big Orange surf, rolling around the stadium, making at least a dozen ovals before a big play halted it. The wave is … Continued

Alvin Andreas Herborg Nielsen joined the faculty of the Physics Department in 1935 and became head of the department in 1956. He became dean of liberal arts in 1963. A native of Menominee, Michigan, he received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Michigan and was a teaching and research fellow at Ohio … Continued

Dr. Rodney Y. Wolf, cardiovascular surgeon, and Dr. Robert J. Kaplan, dermatologist, both of Memphis, gave lead gifts to allow construction of the hospitality center under the north stands. The center was dedicated September 20, 2002. Each football Saturday, Tennessee coaches in all sports host a group of approximately 200 to 250 special guests, school … Continued

Construction on the new physics building began November 28, 1960, and the building was occupied in summer 1962. The 70,359-square-foot building was designed by Barber and McMurry and constructed at a cost of $1,148,000. A $108,000 grant from the National Science Foundation was matched by the State to allow adding 14,702 square feet of research … Continued

In February 1938 UT announced that it had petitioned the WPA for funding to create a dormitory at Neyland Stadium—300 feet long, 94 feet wide, and four stories high—that would house 120 men. On the roof of the fireproof edifice, seating for just over ten thousand was to be provided. Professor Nathan Dougherty had visited … Continued

At 6:00 a.m. on Monday April 21, 1986, Phil Williams, disc jockey at WIMZ-FM 104, began his quest to sit in each of the 91,249 outside seats in Neyland Stadium, culminating planning with the UT Athletics Department begun in January. The one-man wave had been accomplished previously in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, and … Continued

The stadium’s lunchroom opened in 1939, and in 1950 Eva Spangler became the manager of the facility after being employed only one year. From 1950 until its closing in June 1970, with the decision not to continue to use the stadium for dormitory purposes (except in emergencies), Eva’s was a popular place. In the summer … Continued