The Origin
This is the year the university was founded.
What is 1794?
This bluetick coonhound became the mascot in 1953.
Who is Smokey?
8 dogs were introduced at halftime of a football game against Mississippi State. Smokey was the last dog to be announced. Smokey barked and as students cheered, Smokey kept barking. Since then, there have been ten Smokeys, all raised by the same Knoxville family.
This is the oldest building on campus.
What is South College?
South College was built in 1872 and was formerly the offices of university presidents.
This is the ceremony where students pass the "Torch of Preparation."
What is Torch Night?
The first ceremony was first held in 1925 and was called the "Freshman Pledge Ceremony." The ceremony was renamed "Torch Night" in 1929.
This new tradition was adopted in 2013 and encourages Volunteers to show their school pride at the end of the week.
What is Big Orange Friday?
This was the original name of the university.
What is Blount College?
Blount College was named after Gov. William Blount, the first governor of Tennessee.
This is the name of the first president.
Who is Samuel Carrick?
Carrick was president from 1794 to 1809. Carrick Hall is named after him!
It may be a myth, but better safe than sorry. Never step foot on it, lest you desire to graduate late, or at all!
What is the Seal?
Pedestrian Walkway is composed of engraved stones that highlight more than 200 years of UT history, including the official university seal.
UT was first dubbed the "Volunteers" after playing this football team in 1902.
Who is the Georgia Tech?
The name stuck and was officially adopted in 1905!
After spending nine years at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, this person returned to Rocky Top to become the ninth chancellor of UTK.
Who is Chancellor Donde Plowman?
Before becoming Chancellor, Dr. Plowman served as the head of the Department of Management in the Haslam College of Business. She has a doctorate in strategic management from the University of Texas at Austin.
The university had this many names before becoming "the University of Tennessee" in 1879.
What is 3?
Blount College -> East Tennessee College -> East Tennessee University -> University of Tennessee
The Hill is named after this woman.
Who is Barbara Hill?
Barbara Hill is Gov. William Blount's daughter!
This is the largest library in the state of Tennessee.
What is Hodges Library?
Hodges is also home to one of the top-grossing Starbucks in Knoxville. Hodges Library is 6 stories tall and full of resources for students.
This is the rumored inspiration for the university's colors: orange and white.
What are daisies?
In 1889, president of the Athletics Club, Charles Moore, chose colors for the first Field Day. Orange and white daisies lined the Hill and inspired his choice. Students wore orange & white to the football game. In 1892, students met and selected the colors officially.
Recently, there has been talk that florists have never seen an orange/white daisy and it turns out, Moore was color blind.
This is the number of undergraduate degree programs offered at UTK.
What is 360?
This was the year women were regularly admitted to the university.
What is 1893?
The first woman was admitted to Blount College in 1804, but women were not admitted to UT on equal footing with men until 1893 when the board of trustees approved co-education.
Although he was expected to be the NFL's No. 1 draft pick in 1997, this man announced he would play his senior year as the Vols quarterback and helped the team with the SEC Championship that year.
Who is Peyton Manning?
Peyton was a three-time academic All-American at UT and distinguished alumnus from the College of Communication and Information.
The Rock was first brought to campus in this year.
What is 1966?
The 97.5 ton rock was brought to campus in 1966. The tradition of painting the rock did not begin until the 1980s. In 2009, the Rock was moved across the street to make way for the Student Health Center.
This is the name of the official fight song.
What is Down the Field?
Also known as "Here's to Old Tennessee," the fight song was written in 1907.
The unofficial fight song, "Rocky Top" was written in 1967 and only took 10 minutes to write!
This brand-new division, established in January 2020, houses offices such as the Center for Career Development & Academic Exploration, First Year Programs, Honors & Scholars, and New Student Orientation.
What is the Division of Student Success?
The Division of Student Success is here to help you maximize your individual strengths and understand how your strengths contribute to your academic dreams, career paths, and personal well-being.
Black undergraduate students were first admitted in this year.
What is 1961?
Three Black men were admitted to UT in 1961 as undergraduate students. The first Black male graduate student, Gene Mitchell Gray, was admitted in 1952. The first Black professors were not hired until 1967. Sammye Wynn became the first Black female instructor in the College of Education and Robert Kirk became the first Black professor at UT.
This woman was the head coach of the Lady Vols basketball team for 38 years. When she retired in 2012, she had led the Lady Vols to 8 national championships and became the winningest coach in NCAA basketball history with 1,098 wins.
Who is Pat Summitt?
A statue of Coach Summitt, dedicated in 2013, stands across from Thompson-Boling Arena where the basketball court is named "The Summitt" in her honor.
Ayres Hall is named after this 12th president.
Who is Brown Ayres?
After his death in 1919, Ayres Hall was constructed and completed in 1921 in his honor.
This is the Volunteer Creed.
What is "One that beareth a torch shadoweth oneself to give light to others." ?
The creed and the Torchbearer were adopted in 1932, although the statue was not erected until 1968.
In Fall 2020, UTK enrolled this many students.
What is 30,559?
UTK enrolled over 30,000 students in Fall 2020, including 24,254 undergraduates. 78% of students are in-state students.