Tennessee's game against Austin Peay continues streak of Neyland Stadium sellouts
Tennessee’s game against Austin Peay Saturday is officially sold out, giving the Vols a streak of seven straight sellouts at Neyland Stadium. The run started last September, with a capacity crowd of 101,915 on hand for a 63-6 win over Akron.
The Vols opened the new season last week with a 49-13 win over Virginia in Nashville, setting a Nissan Stadium attendance record at 69,507. The previous record was set when Tennessee played Purdue in the Music City Bowl at the end of the 2021 season.
No. 9 Tennessee (1-0) hosts Austin Peay (0-1) in the home-opener Saturday (5 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN+/SEC Network+) before going to Florida next week to start the SEC schedule.
“Excited to get back home and get an opportunity to kick off inside of Neyland Stadium,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said earlier this week on the SEC Coaches Teleconference. “This week is the first time a lot of our players have an opportunity to experience the Vol Walk — 40,000 fans there to meet us as we pull up to the stadium — Vol Navy and obviously game day. It will be something that those guys remember forever.”
Tennessee won’t be in its traditional orange and white home uniform for Saturday’s game. Instead, the Vols will wear their new ‘Artful Dodger’ Smokey Grey alternate uniform, paying homage to former quarterback Condredge Holloway.
Saturday marks the 51st anniversary of Holloway making his first start at Tennessee — the Vols won at Georgia Tech on Sept. 9, 1972 — as Holloway became the first African American starting quarterback in the Southeastern Conference.
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“We’re celebrating Condredge Holloway and what he represented here at the University of Tennessee,” Heupel said, “and what he meant in this league and across America. First-class starting quarterback in the SEC. Someone who represents himself, his family and stands for everything that’s good in college football.
“He’s always been that way and for us to wear the Smokey Greys in a pattern that he wore is really special. And to have him around our program this week is special too.”
Other sold-out games last season were Florida, Alabama, UT Martin, Kentucky and Missouri. The Vols went 7-0 at home last season and have won nine in a row at Neyland since losing to Georgia in November 2021.
The Vols were fourth nationally in attendance in college football last season, averaging 100,532 fans per game. They trailed only Michigan (110,246), Penn State (107,379), Ohio State (104,663) and LSU (100,596).
