Josh Smith earned the BFA from UT in 1998 and is an artist based in New York. Smith collages together newspapers, drawings, and posters to create a ready-made abstraction and is best known for his paintings in which he uses the letters of his own name in various configurations as a subject matter. His work … Continued

Rhodes Scholar Matthew Glenn Smith received the BA from UT in 1909, having been editor of the school newspaper, a basketball player, a fencer, and a lieutenant in the military cadet corps. He taught English at Knoxville High School for two years, being named a Rhodes Scholar in 1911. At Oxford he was a member … Continued

Arnold Smith is a magna cum laude (1963) graduate and an honor graduate of UT Medical School (1967). He did a surgical internship at UT and then did a residency in neurosurgery and special diagnostics at the Mayo Clinic. He did other residencies at the University of Mississippi and the University of Kentucky. He served … Continued

Tenor Roy Cornelius Smith earned both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UT (and the doctor of musical arts from the American Conservatory of Music). In 1990 he was one of the 11 winners of the Metropolitan National Opera auditions, which included participants from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Australia. Other awards include the … Continued

The Faculty Senate passed a resolution in May 2005 calling for smoke-free entrances to buildings. Over the summer break, Chancellor Loren Crabtree implemented designating smoke-free entrances to UT buildings by having Facilities Services place signs at the designated entrances.

A Tennessee Bluetick Coonhound dog, Smokey, is the mascot of UT teams. The UT Pep Club, headed by Stuart Worden, identified a major lack of school spirit in 1953 and attributed part of the difficulty in increasing school spirit to the fact that Tennessee’s symbol was the Volunteer—represented by a torch—while most schools had a … Continued

In 2007 a club for pets of Vol fans, Smokey’s Club, was initiated. The original cost to join was $25 (and $20 for additional pets in the household), which included a pet bandana, a T-shirt for human pet companion, a certificate, a photograph of Smokey, and a PetSafe Village discount key card.

The first unofficial costumed “Smokey” began appearing at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville football games in the fall of 1967. The man behind the costume was John L. Rush, who had brought his old Saluki dog costume to Knoxville from his previous alma mater Southern Illinois University. Costumed Smokey quickly became a crowd favorite, appearing … Continued

Adam DeVault, the 1999 inhabitant of the Smokey mascot costume, left his costume in his apartment after wearing it for the October 2 game against Auburn (UT won, 24-0) while he went to dinner with friends. Upon his return home, he discovered that Smokey—head, hands, feet, and body of fur—was missing. Suspecting a practical joke, … Continued

Smokey’s Howl is a spirit competition during the homecoming pep rally. Campus organizations present a cheerleading or dance routine, which is then judged. The pep rally and competition has been presented during homecoming since at least 2002.