Tennessee
Oklahoma announcer apologizes after blasting Tennessee over Neyland Stadium Spanish radio setup
This story was updated to add new information.
Oklahoma football play-by-play radio announcer Toby Rowland blasted the University of Tennessee on social media for not providing a booth in the Neyland Stadium press box for the Sooners’ Spanish-speaking radio broadcast for the Nov. 1 game.
Rowland took his complaints directly to X with two posts on Oct. 27, saying he hopes other SEC schools will be “more accomodating” than Tennessee. Three hours later, Rowland posted an apology.
UT replied to Rowland’s initial complaint on X, pointing out that its own Spanish broadcast crew calls the games off site at a studio rather than Neyland Stadium because of space restrictions. Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama are the only SEC schools with a Spanish radio broadcast of football games.
“Tennessee is not providing a broadcast location for our @LosSooners broadcast crew this week. Tennessee suggested we leave them home to broadcast off television. We don’t want to set that unfair precedent. Enrique & Luis are treasured members of the Sooner Radio Team,” Rowland posted on X.
“So we’ve invited them to share our booth Saturday in Knoxville. It’ll be cozy & we may hear each other in background occasionally. But, we’re excited for this experience, value our awesomely talented @LosSooners crew & hope future SEC foes will be more accommodating.”
No. 14 Tennessee (6-2, 3-2 SEC) plays No. 18 Oklahoma (6-2, 2-2 SEC) on Nov. 1 (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) at Neyland Stadium.
How Tennessee replied to Oklahoma announcer’s complaint
UT football spokesman Bill Martin replied to Rowland on X, referencing a conversation he previously had with him about the arrangements. He also pointed out that UT’s own Spanish broadcast calls games from the WNML studio, featuring play-by-play announer Carlos Lopez and analyst J.P. Vasquez.
“Toby – look forward to seeing you. For the record, our own Spanish broadcast team doesn’t call the game in our stadium because we have no booth or deck to safely accommodate. They call in a studio,” Martin posted on X. “We are a glass enclosed press box high above. We also have national radio here as well in the secondary booth.
“As has previously been discussed, we have one of the largest home/visiting radio booths with three rows and activated additional lines last week to accommodate both broadcasts in your booth.”
According to Rowland, Oklahoma will have English and Spanish radio crews in the same room, an option that UT offered.
Martin confirmed to Knox News that UT activated an additional broadcast line for the Spanish radio crew at UT’s expense to accomodate Oklahoma.
Two hours after Martin responded to the initial post on X, Rowland replied with an apology.
“My sincere apologies for the tone of my earlier tweet. It was clumsy. Absolutely no shade intended,” Rowland posted. “Simply want fans to know why Saturday’s broadcast may sound different. Tennessee has been 1st class & our entire @OUontheAir & @LosSooners crews can’t wait to be back in Rocky Top!”
Why there’s no extra room for Oklahoma’s second radio crew
Neyland Stadium actually has more booths than most FBS facilities, but the popularity of UT games puts that space at a premium.
There are three radio booths in Neyland Stadium for home, visitor and national radio crews. Most of UT’s SEC games are carried by a national radio broadcast like Westwood One, ESPN Radio or Touchdown Radio.
For the Vols’ game against Oklahoma, Touchdown Radio will be in the third radio booth, which UT is contractually obligated to provide.
The rest of the press box is designated for the TV broadcast crew, home and visiting coaches and writers covering the game.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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Tennessee
Has Tennessee ever made a Final Four? Vols hope third time’s a charm under Barnes
How Tennessee basketball made it back to third straight Elite Eight appearance
Tennessee basketball wanted to exploit Iowa State’s lack of depth in its 76-62 Men’s NCAA Tournament win
For the third straight season, Rick Barnes has Tennessee basketball in the Elite Eight. After Sunday, March 29’s game against No. 1 Michigan, he’s hoping to have taken the Vols where they’ve never been before.
Despite becoming a March Madness fixture, the Tennessee Vols have never, in their history, made the Final Four. Despite a pedigree of modest success, including 11 regular season SEC titles and and five conference tournament championships (most recently in 2022), Tennessee has not been able to cross the threshold to college basketball’s most coveted weekend.
The Barnes era marks the closest Tennessee has come, with consistency, even though its best shot arguably came before Barnes’ time. The Vols’ first Elite Eight trip was under Bruce Pearl in 2010, while Barnes was still roaming the Longhorns bench in Texas.
Barnes has taken Tennessee to the 2024, 2025, and 2026 Elite Eights. There’s an argument to be made 2026 is his most impressive run yet, as a No. 6 seed in the Midwest bracket.
The Vols went as a No. 2 seed in both 2024 and 2025, ultimately losing to the No. 1 seeds of their respective brackets in the Elite Eight. While it could be easy to think it will be more of the same Sunday against No. 1 Michigan, Tennessee has now taken down No. 3 Virginia and No. 2 Iowa State to get to this point. So perhaps one more upset is in store.
Has Tennessee basketball ever made a Final Four?
Tennessee has not made a Final Four in its history, making it one of five SEC schools to not get to the national semifinal round.
The others are Missouri, Mississippi, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt. Alabama basketball made its first Final Four in 2024.
Tennessee basketball Elite Eight record
The Vols are 0-4 in the Elite Eight, with losses in 2010, 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Here’s a look at their full history in the fourth full round of the tournament.
- 2010: No. 5 Michigan State 70, No. 6 Tennessee 69
- 2024: No. 1 Purdue 72, No. 2 Tennessee 66
- 2025: No. 1 Houston 69, No. 2 Tennessee 50
- 2026: TBD, vs. No. 1 Michigan
Rick Barnes Elite Eight record
Barnes is not just defined by his career at Tennessee. He does have a Final Four appearance, winning his first Elite Eight game with Texas in 2003. Since then, though, he is 0-4 in the Elite Eight, with two losses at both Texas and Tennessee.
Tennessee
Tennessee football gets commitment from WR Kesean Bowman
Tennessee football and coach Josh Heupel picked up a commitment from Brentwood Academy four-star wide receiver Kesean Bowman on March 28 while he was visiting the school.
Bowman narrowed his list to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Ohio State, Alabama and Miami on March 2. All five schools were among his top 10 he acknowledged on Oct. 30. Texas, LSU, USC, Texas A&M and Oregon were among the schools left off his list.
The 6-foot, 174-pound Bowman is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the state for the 2027 class. He is the No. 6 wide receiver nationally, according to 247Sports Composite. He has more than 35 other offers. He decommitted from Oregon last September, more than two months after committing to the Ducks.
Bowman was a Division II-AAA Mr. Football semifinalist, who caught 49 passes for 665 yards and 11 TDs, during BA’s 2025 state runner-up season. He also had a rushing TD and was named the DII-AAA West Region Offensive MVP. He was named to The Tennessean’s 2025 All Midstate Large Class football team and is a Middle Tennessee Sports Awards offensive football player of the year nominee.
Bowman helped BA finish 11-1 in 2025, losing to Baylor in the DII-AAA state championship game.
Tennessee and Heupel have also offered Brentwood Academy offensive tackle Rance Brown, a 6-6, 290-pound lineman who transferred from Southside (Alabama). The Vols are pursuing BA junior four-star linebacker Kenneth Simon II as well.
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
He also contributes to The Tennessean’s high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.
Tennessee
What are the Titans’ top remaining needs ahead of 2026 NFL Draft?
The Tennessee Titans have made some improvements throughout the offseason and appear better positioned heading into the draft than they were in 2024, with added depth on both sides of the ball.
Yet, even with the added talent, they still have multiple needs they must continue to address to help both now and in the future, and another solid draft would go a long way in finding a sustainable path forward. Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated looked at the roster and saw some of the same things as he broke down their remaining needs heading into the draft.
Tennessee Titans
Draft needs: RB, WR, edge, S
The running back duo of Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears hasn’t been a productive one. Cam Ward desperately needs a game-changer at one of the skill positions. Newcomer wideout Wan’Dale Robinson doesn’t exactly fit that bill, but he’ll make life easier for the second-year quarterback.
With Robert Saleh now the head coach in Tennessee, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Titans used the No. 4 pick on one of the top edge rushers.
There is no doubt that the Titans should add some playmakers in this draft class, and they shouldn’t bank on hitting a dynamic playmaker in the fourth round again. Tennessee could definitely use a premium pick on at least one or possibly two offensive weapons.
Tennessee also must invest in the interior of the offensive line to help Cam Ward and the offense. While it’s true that Pollard and Spears did not blow the doors off the running game, they were also hampered by subpar play along the offensive line for the past two seasons, after line guru Bill Callahan failed to transform the Titans’ line into a consistent unit. It wasn’t until after he and his son Brian Callahan left that the play-calling for the running game took off.
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