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 Volunteers. Use of the term was probably a resurgence of the designation of Tennessee as the “Volunteer State” because of the large numbers of volunteers from Tennessee for the Spanish-American War (1898). The term originated when, during the Mexican War (1846–48), Tennessee sent more than 30,000 volunteers in response to the governor’s call for 2,800. The term is often shortened to Vols.
Prior to general adoption of this nickname, the teams had been designated as “The Tennesseans” or “The Varsity.” It was not until March 26, 1905, that the Knoxville Journal and Tribune used the name “Volunteers”—in relation to a practice game of the baseball team with Baker-Himel School. In fall 1905 both local newspapers used the term freely in referring to UT athletic teams.