The Tennessee Alumnus, the magazine of the University of Tennessee Alumni Association, began publication in 1917, (as the News-Letter) under the direction of L. R. Neel, the first general secretary of the University of Tennessee Alumni Association. At that time the Alumni Association had a membership fee of $2 per year, which included a subscription to the magazine. About five thousand copies of the first issue were printed. For two years, it was published quarterly, then bimonthly. In 1935 the publication was transformed from a bulletin to a general magazine.
In 1969 the magazine was revamped and retained as a UT system-wide journal. The Orange Peal (renamed Horizons in 1978) was published by the Public Relations Office and included class news. The Torch subsequently became the Knoxville campus Alumni Association publication.