Tennessee

Teens rip up Tennessee playground forcing city to pay thousands in repairs

Published

2 years ago

January 6, 2024

Teens rip up Tennessee playground forcing city to pay thousands in repairs

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A Tennessee playground was vandalized by a group of teens, and it was all caught on camera. The City of Parsons said they will have to spend thousands of dollars to fix it.

Friday was just another day for Tabitha Camper at her Parsons physical therapy practice, Camper Physical Therapy. But she and the community are holding out for answers as to what happened at the Parsons Regional Community Park down the street.

“Word spreads fast and hopefully it gets back around to the people that did this,” said Camper.

That’s where the surveillance video was shot a couple of weeks ago. It shows teens tearing and pulling up thousands of dollars worth of turf at the new playground.

“I was disappointed to see such an asset to our community be vandalized,” said Camper. “It’s a big part of our community especially in the springtime when we have baseball.”

“This is something we are very proud of,” said Lee Villaflor, Parsons’ City Administrator.

He posted the video to social media to try and identify who did this to a playground funded by grant money.

“We are not out to put anyone in jail over this,” said Villaflor. “We just want – we would like to talk to the people and just say ‘Look, this is something we are very proud of. One of these days you’ll have children, and they are going to be over here playing on this same surface.’”

The patch ripped up may seem small, but the city said it may not be possible to replace the section alone. Instead, they would have to replace the turf all around the playground which could cost around $25,000, which is a lot for a small city like Parsons.

“It’s more than likely going to be a complete overhaul,” said Villaflor.

For Camper, she hopes this is the end to the vandalism.

“I don’t know what the motive is behind that,” she said. “But they definitely need to be held accountable.”

The City of Parsons said if anyone knows anything they should call 731-847-6358.

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Tennessee

Alex Golesh hires former Tennessee analyst as Auburn’s coordinator

Published

4 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Alex Golesh hires former Tennessee analyst as Auburn’s coordinator

Alex Golesh was introduced as Auburn’s head coach on Dec. 1. He served as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator and tight ends coach from 2021-22.

Golesh announced the hiring of Jacob Bronowski as Auburn’s special teams coordinator. He served as the Vols’ special teams analyst in 2021 under head coach Josh Heupel. Bronowski was also under Heupel at UCF in 2020 as special teams quality control.

“His track record is outstanding,” Golesh said of Bronowski. “He developed multiple national award contenders, including a Lou Groza Award winner, and has led some of the top special teams units in the country.

“I saw up close when we worked together before that coach Bronowski understands that special teams can be a championship difference-maker, and he’s proven he can develop elite specialists. He brings exactly the attention to detail and relentless work ethic we need in our program.”

Auburn will play at Tennessee on Oct. 3, 2026.

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Tennessee

Tennessee football’s 2026 schedule complete with opponents, dates

Published

16 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee football’s 2026 schedule complete with opponents, dates

Tennessee football will host Lane Kiffin, Alex Golesh and possibly Arch Manning at Neyland Stadium in the 2026 season.

UT’s opponents for the next four seasons were previously announced. On Dec. 11, the SEC released the dates of every conference game, providing the full picture of the 2026 schedule.

Game times and television designations will be announced later.

Texas will make its first trip ever to Tennessee on Sept. 26. Manning, the Longhorns quarterback, is expected to return for the 2026 season rather than enter the NFL draft. If so, he’ll face the Vols on the home turf of his uncle, legendary quarterback Peyton Manning.

Golesh, the former UT offensive coordinator, is Auburn’s new coach. He will return to Knoxville for an Oct. 3 game.

Alabama will play at Tennessee on Oct. 17, continuing their Third Saturday in October rivalry game.

Kiffin, the polarizing former UT coach, is now coaching LSU after bolting Ole Miss after the regular season ended. He will return to Knoxville for a Nov. 21 game. Three of the five SEC teams visiting Neyland Stadium will have a first-year coach, including Kentucky’s Will Stein on Nov. 7.

Tennessee will play Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt as annual SEC opponents in the league’s new nine-game conference schedule. Its other six opponents will rotate each season. That means each school will play every SEC opponent home and away every four years.

Tennessee will have one open week on Oct. 31 and thus won’t play on Halloween.

Here is Tennessee’s week-to-week schedule for the 2026 season.

Tennessee football 2026 schedule

Sept. 5: Furman
Sept. 12: At Georgia Tech
Sept. 19: Kennesaw State
Sept. 26: Texas*
Oct. 3: Auburn*
Oct. 10: At Arkansas*
Oct. 17: Alabama*
Oct. 24: At South Carolina*
Oct. 31: Open
Nov. 7: Kentucky*
Nov. 14: At Texas A&M*
Nov. 21: LSU*
Nov. 28: At Vanderbilt*

*SEC 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

Dragos Cazacu signs with Tennessee

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee announced the signing of graduate student Dragos Cazacu on Wednesday. He is from Constanta, Romania.

“Dragos is someone we believe can translate all of his professional experience and success seamlessly to high level college tennis,” Tennessee associate head coach Matt Lucas said. “He’s a very mature young man who has finished university in Romania, so we know the type of student athlete we are getting. Winning ITF Pro Circuit titles, all while doing his degree back home shows he will transition nicely to Tennessee in January.”

Cazacu competed on the ATP Tour prior to Tennessee. His highest ranking was No. 763 in singles and No. 495 in doubles.

Tennessee will begin its spring men’s tennis season versus ETSU on Jan. 9, 2026 at Goodfriend Tennis Center. SEC competition will begin Feb. 21, 2026 at Kentucky.

The Vols’ home opener in SEC play is scheduled for Feb. 27, 2026 versus Auburn at Goodfriend Tennis Center.

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