What This Story Is About
President Donald Trump is expected to attend the Tennessee-Texas football game inside Neyland Stadium.
Why It Matters
UT athletic historian Bud Ford said no sitting president has ever attended a game in Knoxville, and the visit is prompting enhanced security measures inside a stadium that holds more than 100,000 people.
What Happens Next
Officials are urging fans to arrive at Neyland Stadium earlier than usual as gates open early and tighter security checks are put in place.
For Context
Past presidents, including Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, have visited UT’s campus for events or speeches, but never for a football game.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – President Donald Trump is expected to attend the Tennessee-Texas football game inside Neyland Stadium, according to reports on campus this week.
The visit, combined with the matchup against Texas, has drawn attention from fans and university officials.
UT freshmen Skye Haddock and Ellie McCoy said the news spread quickly on campus.
“I was literally in an Uber yesterday, and the Uber driver was like, ‘can you believe the president’s on campus? In here in Tennessee.’ Literally anyone coming here, it’s like, this is insane to me,” Haddock and McCoy said.
No past president has attended a game in Knoxville
UT athletic historian Bud Ford said a presidential visit to a game would be unprecedented for the university.
“To have a president come officially to a game would be a precedent this year. To my knowledge, we’ve never had a president attend a game in Knoxville, Tennessee,” Ford said.
He added past presidents, including Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, visited campus for events or speeches, but not for a game.
Security concerns increase for packed stadium
Ford said securing a presidential visit inside a stadium of more than 100,000 people presents challenges.
“You’ve got a nightmare of 101,000 people anyway. From a tactical standpoint, it enhances that for enhanced security because of certain background things that have already occurred when Trump has spoke at different venues,” Ford said.
Officials are urging fans to arrive earlier than usual because of tighter security checks. Neyland Stadium gates will open early.
Ford said Tennessee and Texas have played three times, with all previous meetings held during Cotton Bowl games.
“We only played Texas three times. And all of those have been Cotton Bowl games. And so, this will be the first regular season game. And when you have a regular season game of a new conference member, there’s a lot of interest,” Ford said.
Students said they expect the atmosphere to exceed a typical game day.
“I think, like, even being on campus, any other game day, it’s always insane down here. But it’s gonna be, like, a hundred times. All the energy. Like, everyone I’ve talked to is, like, so excited waking up early for it. So, yeah, it’s gonna be awesome,” a student said.
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