The University of Tennessee is rolling out a new traffic pattern for home football games this season, starting with the Sept. 5 opener against Furman.
UT said the setup is the same one tested earlier this year during the Luke Combs concert and the Savannah Bananas game, with the goal of easing gridlock around campus on game day.
For fans with designated parking passes, the school is urging them to use the lot-specific routes laid out by Kimley-Horn Engineering and Design consultants. Kimley-Horn worked with Tennessee Athletics, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, and city and county officials on the full gameday traffic plan.
Fans can find the route for their designated parking pass location by clicking here.
Those without on-campus parking passes are being told to stay out of the campus corridor if possible and instead park downtown or use KAT shuttle options. Stadium gates will open two-and-a-half hours before kickoff.
UT also warned that leaving campus after the game may look different from the usual weekday drive, since drivers could be directed opposite traditional traffic patterns to help move the postgame crowd faster. The university said the changes are meant to make departure more efficient.
On Neyland Drive, the three westbound lanes will funnel traffic toward Alcoa Highway, I-40 and Kingston Pike, and the far left lane will operate as a “Kingston Pike Express Lane” to cut down on backups.
Fans parked on the west side of campus near the Agriculture school, G11, G17 or Volunteer Boulevard should expect a larger University of Tennessee Police presence and a more active traffic pull.
The Fort will also be split into three gameday zones, with Knoxville Police helping coordinate traffic in each area after the game.
Kimley-Horn’s review of postgame traffic also led to a simple recommendation: consider going east to go west, or going south to head west. The reason, UT said, is that four eastward routes off campus lead to westbound I-40, and drivers may also reach I-40 faster by heading south on Alcoa Highway and then west on Pellissippi Parkway.
“For those of us who have spent a lifetime cheering for the Vols, this project was more than transportation planning,” said Chris Rhodes, project lead for the Kimley-Horn team. “It was an opportunity to team with Visit Knoxville, the City, Knox County, TDOT, and UT stakeholders to create a gameday playbook designed around the fan experience. Because while the final score matters, the memories fans take home often begin and end with how they get to and from Neyland Stadium.”
In Other News...
Vols Just Landed A Recruit Ohio State Fans Wanted Badly
Tennessees recruiting momentum got a major boost with the commitment of five-star running back David Gabriel-Georges, a prized 2027 prospect who had been one of the more closely watched names in a competitive race. The Baylor School standout, who plays in Chattanooga, already made a loud first impression this fall with three touchdowns and 261 yards of total offense in his senior debut, and his profile has only grown as the recruiting spotlight has intensified.
Gabriel-Georges arrives with plenty of national buzz, including a ranking from ESPN as the No. 2 running back in his class and praise from Texas quarterback Arch Manning. For Tennessee, landing him means fending off a serious push from Ohio State and keeping one of the top in-state talents close to home, a win that should resonate well beyond this recruiting cycle. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee's Backfield Is Creating Buzz Heupel Rarely Gives
Josh Heupel does not usually hand out that kind of praise lightly, which is why his comments about Tennessees 2026 running back room stood out. The Vols are bringing back DeSean Bishop after a 1,000-yard season, and he now has a deeper supporting cast around him with sophomores Daune Morris and Justin Baker, plus Tulane transfer Javin Gordon joining the mix.
Heupel said the groups offseason growth has been evident, and their work in preseason camp has only added to the optimism. For a coach who tends to keep the focus on the next practice rather than the next big projection, the idea that this backfield could be the best he has had at Tennessee is a notable benchmark, especially with more of the season still ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Just Lost A New Frontcourt Piece Before The Season
Jalen Washington had looked like a useful frontcourt addition for Tennessee after transferring in from Vanderbilt, bringing a track record that suggested he could give the Volunteers some dependable minutes inside. He averaged 8.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in his previous season, and the expectation around Knoxville was that he would settle in as a rotational piece for a team trying to deepen its frontcourt before the year began.
Instead, Washington is currently unable to play because of a legal dispute involving the NCAA and a temporary injunction, and the latest court ruling only tightened the uncertainty. A Tennessee court granted an extraordinary appeal and stayed the trial court order that had allowed him to suit up, leaving his status for the upcoming season in serious doubt and stripping the Volunteers of one of their newest interior options before he ever took the floor. [Read more 🡒]