Tennessee

Oklahoma announcer apologizes after blasting Tennessee over Neyland Stadium Spanish radio setup

Published

2 months ago

October 27, 2025

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

Tennessee lawmakers discuss priorities for upcoming session

Published

7 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Tennessee lawmakers discuss priorities for upcoming session

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Tennessee lawmakers are preparing to discuss hundreds of bills as the state legislature convenes, with mental health funding emerging as a priority for two lawmakers.

State Rep. Sam McKenzie, D-Knoxville, and state Sen. Becky Massey, R-Knox County, said mental health care funding will be a focus of upcoming legislative conversations.

“It’s been a big topic,” McKenzie said.

“That’s going to be very top of my mind as far as working and advocating for that,” Massey said.

Massey, who chairs the Transportation Committee, said the state needs more money for road expansion. She expressed concerns about insufficient funding for billion of dollars worth of road projects.

“People are paying less to drive on our roads and the cost of building roads are going up. So your gas tax is going down, the cost of building roads is going up,” Massey said.

McKenzie stressed the need for more public education funding following the first year of families using state dollars for private school through the voucher program.

“In Knox County, our numbers are up. Actually, in Memphis, their numbers are up, so I think some of the changes we’ve made in regard to public education and putting a few more dollars in, I think we can continue that process,” McKenzie said.

State House Speaker Cameron Sexton has said he wants to at least double the voucher program to offer it to 40,000 to 50,000 families. Both Massey and McKenzie expressed skepticism about the expansion.

“This isn’t about those kids in failing schools, this is about their friends, the rich or almost rich, that are just wanting a check from the government,” McKenzie said.

Massey cited revenue concerns about the expansion.

“I’m not getting the vibes that there is going to be enough revenue to do that because we’ve got other funding needs also,” Massey said.

Massey added the state could expand the program this year, but perhaps to 5,000 more families.

The General Assembly will reconvene next Tuesday.

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Tennessee

Deputies perform ‘life-saving measures’ after 5-year-old falls into swimming pool in Tennessee

Published

19 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Deputies perform ‘life-saving measures’ after 5-year-old falls into swimming pool in Tennessee

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A Tennessee sheriff’s office is asking the community to pray for a family whose 5-year-old was hospitalized after falling into a swimming pool.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said deputies and family members were “administering life-saving measures” Thursday afternoon after pulling the child out of the water.

The child was then transferred to a hospital, where they are still being treated.

“The child was subsequently transported to the hospital, where they are currently receiving medical care‚” said a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office. “Out of respect for the family’s privacy, no further details will be released at this time.”

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Tennessee

Why first quarter was ‘crucial’ in Mississippi State’s loss to Tennessee

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Why first quarter was ‘crucial’ in Mississippi State’s loss to Tennessee

Sam Purcell felt good about the game plan for Mississippi State women’s basketball’s matchup with Tennessee.

But the Bulldogs gave up 26 points in the first quarter and trailed by seven points. It was a deficit they never recovered from in a 90-80 loss to the Lady Vols at Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 8.

“You look at that that first quarter, I thought it was crucial. We had a great scout, a great game plan, but we didn’t talk on ball screens,” Purcell said. “Their largest quarter was that first quarter, and we’re going to watch back and go, dang it, we need to be more vocal. And you got to give them credit – top to bottom, they’re probably as good as anybody in the country with athleticism. So you can’t let those athletic kids turn the corner for wide open layups, and we did.”

Kharyssa Richardson and Madison Francis led the Bulldogs with 22 points each, but MSU didn’t have enough defense to pull off the upset.

Had Mississippi State been able to slow down Tennessee’s drivers in the first quarter, it may have been a different result. But once the Bulldogs started slowing that down, the Lady Vols were “phenomenal hitting some big-time shots,” Purcell said.

Tennessee only had the edge in points in the paint, 42-40, but it also went 10-for-27 on 3-pointers, which was an area Mississippi State couldn’t match. The Bulldogs shot 2-for-13 from deep.

MSU also couldn’t stop Tennessee freshman point guard Mia Pauldo, who scored a game-high 26 points on 8-for-12 shooting. The Bulldogs sent her to the foul line time and time again, and she went 8-for-9 on free throws.

“I thought (Pauldo) was poised, she was clutch,” Purcell said. “Obviously, that’s what you need in games like this that are gonna come down the to the wire. You need players to step up, and I thought she was the X factor for them.”

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