The name of the UT Yearbook is the Volunteer. The yearbook was first published in 1897, and its first editor was Norman H. Pitman. Its first publication was delayed by several weeks because a major fire in downtown Knoxville destroyed the printing company at which it was being printed.
It has been issued annually since 1897, with the exception of 1918. The Publications Association decided not to issue the yearbook in 1918 on the grounds of “patriotism and expediency,” the editor and business manager having left for duty in World War I. In 1958 the Medical Units section ceased to be incorporated in the Volunteer. In 1985 the Volunteer contained a 33⅓ rpm stereo record (sound sheet) containing five songs—three original selections and two UT favorites (“Rocky Top” and a rendition of the “Alma Mater” by the Inter-Vols Steel Band). A contest to choose the songs drew a dozen entries, from which “Big Orange Lament” by Chris Bonet, “Dare” by Jeff Morgan, and “Spirit of the Volunteer” by Dan Cragen and Nick Malik were chosen for inclusion.
In 1987, to commemorate the end of the era of the quarter academic calendar, Bob Hillhouse, editor of the Volunteer, announced a new, coffee-table format and presentation of information like chapters in a book. The 1987 volume also saw a return to use of advertising, absent from UT yearbooks since the 1970s.