Tennessee
Tennessee Football Returns to Neyland Stadium in 100 Days | Rocky Top Insider
The countdown is officially on.
There are 100 days left on the calendar until Tennessee’s season opener as of Thursday.
While the summer doesn’t present too many storylines heading into the fall, the big note to look for during July is SEC Media Days. The addition of Texas and Oklahoma into the Southeastern Conference only adds to the magnitude of the upcoming season, with perhaps no better fitting place for the event than Dallas, TX.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is set for Day 2 of the event on July 16 alongside Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz, and Oklahoma’s Brent Venables.
Training camp will begin in August on the other side of SEC Media Days as Tennessee gets ready for the season ahead. The Vols have been commonly tagged as a Top 20 preseason team on the fringe of the Top 15 with quarterback Nico Iamaleava as a darkhorse Heisman contender. Tennessee also boasts EDGE rusher James Pearce Jr., who could solidify his spot as the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2025 NFL Draft with a strong showing.
Tennessee opens up the 2024 season in a home contest against Chattanooga on August 31. The Vols will quickly hit the road, though, with a likely Top 25 non-conference game under the lights in Charlotte, NC, against NC State in week two. Tennessee then returns home for a non-conference game against Kent State before taking off for unfamiliar territory in their first SEC game against Oklahoma in Norman, OK.
After an open date closes the final weekend of September for Tennessee, the Vols head out to Arkansas for a second-straight road SEC game to open the conference slate before returning to Knoxville for a pair of high-profile rivalry games. Tennessee will host Florida and Alabama in back-to-back weeks in October before another open date closes down the month.
With five weekends in the month of November, Tennessee will face their longest stretch of games to close the season with back-to-back home games against Kentucky and Mississippi State before traveling to Athens, GA, for a matchup with Georgia on Nov. 16. Tennessee then returns home for the home-finale against UTEP before the season-finale against Vanderbilt in Nashville.
More from RTI: Nation’s Top 2025 Tackle David Sanders Jr. Schedules Visit to Tennessee
Here’s a look at the key dates you need to know with 100 days between now and the start of the Vols’ 2024 season:
July
SEC Media Days (Dallas, TX)
- July 15: Brian Kelly, Lane Kiffin, Shane Beamer, Clark Lea
- July 16: Kirby Smart, Eliah Drinkwitz, Brent Venables, Josh Heupel
- July 17: Kalen DeBoer, Billy Napier, Jeff Lebby, Steve Sarkisian
- July 18: Sam Pittman, Hugh Freeze, Mark Stoops, Mike Elko
August
- TBA: Start of Tennessee Football fall camp
- Aug. 31: Chattanooga at Tennessee (Knoxville)
September
- Sep. 7: Tennessee vs NC State (Charlotte, NC)
- Sep. 14: Kent State at Tennessee (Knoxville)
- Sep. 21: Tennessee at Oklahoma (Norman, OK)
- Sep. 28: OPEN
October
- Oct. 5: Tennessee at Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR)
- Oct. 12: Florida at Tennessee (Knoxville)
- Oct. 19: Alabama at Tennessee (Knoxville)
- Oct. 26: OPEN
November
- Nov. 2: Kentucky at Tennessee (Knoxville)
- Nov. 9: Mississippi State at Tennessee (Knoxville)
- Nov. 16: Tennessee at Georgia (Athens, GA)
- Nov. 23: UTEP at Tennessee (Knoxville)
- Nov. 30: Tennessee at Vanderbilt (Nashville, TN)
December
- Dec. 7: SEC Championship (Atlanta, GA)
- Dec. 20-21: CFP First Round
- Dec. 31: Fiesta Bowl (Quarterfinals)
January
- Jan. 1: Peach Bowl (Quarterfinals)
- Jan. 1: Sugar Bowl (Quarterfinals)
- Jan. 1: Rose Bowl (Quarterfinals)
- Jan. 9: Orange Bowl (Semifinals)
- Jan. 10: Cotton Bowl (Semifinals)
- Jan. 20: National Championship (Atlanta, GA)
1⃣0⃣0⃣ 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚔𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚘𝚏𝚏
The countdown is on… 🗓️#GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/Au7KYg6t3L
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) May 23, 2024
The Tennessee high school girls basketball season produced a number of big stars.
Here are the 2026 Tennessee Sports Writers Association all-state girls basketball teams in the six TSSAA classifications.
Class 1A
Laila Downs-Darden, McEwen, Jr.; Rayanna Fisher, Greenfield, Jr.; Zoey Nicholas, Pickett County, Sr.*; Ava Ashley, Wayne County, Jr.; Bailey Blair, Richland, Sr.; Harmony Bell, Middleton, Sr.; Kemora Buggs, Middleton, Sr.; Lily Claire Lowe, Coalfield, So.; Kendall McLemore, Humboldt, Jr.; Abigail Netherton, Van Buren, Jr.; Ella Porter, Greenfield, Fr.; Michelle Shields, Unaka, Sr.; Jaycee Stafford, McKenzie, So.; Tralyn Southerland, North Greene, So.; Lily Wright, Coalfield, So.
Class 2A
Wylie Kee, Huntingdon, Fr.; Maliyah Glasper, Gatlinburg-Pittman, Sr.; Kaegan Young, Cascade, Sr.; Ally Augustin, Loretto, Jr.; Knox Bennett, Huntingdon, So.; Ashlee Brent, Westview, Jr.; Emma Cooper, York Institute, Jr.; Kaylee Dixon, Smith County, So.; Ava Floyd, Hickman County, Jr.; Emry Jones, Smith County, Jr.; Malea Masingale, McMinn Central, Jr.; Sh’Nyla Moss, Union City, Jr.; Saniya Reaves, Gibson County, Sr.; Curnesha Taylor, Memphis Business, Sr.; Raylee Werner, York Institute, Sr.
Class 3A
Andrea Flores, Daniel Boone, Sr.; Chelby Jordan, Dyersburg, Sr.; Sydney Wilhite, Cumberland County, Jr.; McLayne Bobo, Tullahoma, Sr.; Ta’Krya Boddie, Covington, Jr.; Karmine Carmichael, Cocke County, Jr.; Gwen Carroll, Alcoa, Sr.; Gracie Clark, White County, Sr.; Lexi Clark, Stone Memorial, Fr.; Journey Holloway, Red Bank, Sr.; Jade Reed, South Gibson, Jr.; Harper Stinnett, Alcoa, Fr.; Aaliyah Story, Daniel Boone, Sr.; Brylee Tullock, Greeneville, Sr.; Kaylor West, Liberty Creek, Sr.
Class 4A
Cecilie Brandimore, Franklin, Sr; Kimora Fields, Bradley Central, Sr.; Natayla Hodge, Bearden, Sr.; Kaliyah Burden, Sevier County, Jr.; Cara Lee Gilbert, Cookeville, Sr.; Allie Gillies, Cookeville, Sr.; Hannah Hall, Morristown East, Sr.; Layla Hall, Blackman, So.; Aleigha Taylor, Ooltewah, So.; Carter Jones, West Ridge, Jr.; Samiya Jones, Bartlett, Sr.; Nyla Johnson, Nolensville, Jr.; Fran Kelly, Collierville, Sr.; KJ McNealy, Farragut, Sr.; KT Tolbert, Green Hill, So.
Division II-A
Haylen Ayers, University School of Jackson, Jr.; Kayte Madison Bjornstad, Providence Christian Academy, Sr.; Jules Ferrell, Middle Tennessee Christian, Jr.; Makynli Bacon, Webb School-Bell Buckle, So.; Maddie Braden, Christian Academy of Knoxville, Jr.; Lexi Hammock, Christian Academy of Knoxville, Jr.; Mimi Lee, Notre Dame, So.; Kinsley Owen, Silverdale Baptist, Jr.; Brilee Price, Ezell-Harding, Sr.; Lilly Teague, University School of Jackson, Jr.; Skylar Walden, The King’s Academy, Jr.; Ava Zenner, Franklin Road Academy, So.
Division II-AA
Meeyah Green, Knox Webb, Sr.; Ava Jarrett, Lipscomb Academy, Sr.; Ava Jones, Hutchison School, Sr.; Jane Ellis, Christ Presbyterian Academy, Jr.; Maddie Graham, Father Ryan, Sr.; Emery Haws, Knox Catholic, Fr.; Kendall Jones, Briarcrest Christian, Sr.; Blake Maple, Lipscomb Academy, Jr.; Kyndall Mays, Knox Webb, So.; Aubrey Bush, Baylor School, 8th grade; Jayda Robinson, Christ Presbyterian Academy, Jr.; Alana Wells, Ensworth School, Sr.
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.
Bill Lee discuss National Guard deployment, gives message to Memphians
Gov. Bill Lee gives details on the upcoming deployment of National Guard troops and other state and national resources to Memphis to combat crime.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals will allow the National Guard to remain in Memphis after a recent court opinion.
In an opinion issued April 28, three Tennessee Court of Appeals judges ruled that the National Guard deployment by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in October 2025 can stay because the plaintiffs do not have standing to block the deployment.
The appellate ruling sends the case back to Davidson County Chancery Court for continued litigation, and found the group of Democratic lawmakers bringing the case did not have standing to sue.
According to the written opinion, judges cite a lack of standing from the plaintiffs to bring the lawsuit.
Plaintiffs Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley, Jr., Shelby County Commissioners Erika Sugarmon and Henri Brooks, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, State Reps. GA Hardaway and Gabby Salinas, and State Sen. Jeff Yarbro sued to block the deployment on Oct. 17.
Yarbro is from Nashville and is the only non-Shelby County official listed as a plaintiff.
“Our conclusion is not that no one has standing. It is, instead, that these individuals lack standing,” the opinion said.
The opinion reverses Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal injunction, which temporarily ordered the National Guard be withdrawn from Memphis, issued on Nov. 17, 2025.
On March 5, a panel of three judges from the Tennessee Court of Appeals heard arguments about the constitutionality of Lee’s deployment of the National Guard to Memphis.
The Tennessee Attorney General’s office filed the appeal weeks after Moskal granted a temporary injunction against the National Guard deployment. If that injunction were to go into effect, the guard would be withdrawn from Memphis pending the final ruling in the case.
Three questions were brought by the state to the appeal: whether plaintiffs invoked an available waiver of the government’s immunity (known as sovereign immunity) from being sued, if they have standing and if Lee violated state law in deploying the National Guard to Memphis.
Lack of standing from plaintiffs
The opinion did not rule whether Lee’s deployment of the National Guard to Memphis was legal, but instead held that the individuals who brought the lawsuit do not have proper standing to do so.
Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge Andy D. Bennett wrote the opinion of the Court, which Judges Frank Clement Jr. and Jeffrey Usman signed on to. In their opinion, they state that the opinion of the court is not that no one has standing to bring the lawsuit, just that the legislators who did so lack standing.
In essence, the appellate ruling focused on the barrier to entry for suing and not the constitutionality of deploying the National Guard to Memphis.
According to the court, individual state legislators cannot bring an action against the government unless authorized by the Tennessee General Assembly. It also found that Lee’s decision to deploy the National Guard, stripping them of their right to vote on the issue, counted as “diffuse injuries to legislative bodies, not personal injuries of the individual legislators.”
“To the extent that there is a cognizable injury, any injury in not voting upon or debating the deployment of the Tennessee National Guard is shared equally by the other members of the respective legislative bodies. This is problematic for the legislative plaintiffs’ position because, as noted above, ‘individual members lack standing to assert the institutional interests of a legislature,’” the court found.
The same reasoning was applied locally to the members of the Shelby County Commission and Memphis City Council.
As to Harris’ involvement, the court found that any injuries to him or his office would instead be “purported injuries to Shelby County.”
“For example, he notes financial strains upon the county budget stemming from the National Guard’s presence. Mayor Harris is not the county itself, and he does not assert that the Shelby County Charter confers upon him the authority to file lawsuits on behalf of Shelby County. Absent such authority he has no ability to bring suit on behalf of Shelby County. In fact, the plaintiffs expressly indicate in their briefing on appeal that ‘Mayor Harris… is not purporting to proceed on behalf of Shelby County, but rather, is vindicating executive prerogatives that are vested exclusively in his office.’ Accordingly, while injuries to Shelby County could potentially provide a basis for asserting that the county itself has been injured, injuries to the county are not a basis for providing standing for Mayor Harris,” the court wrote.
Despite reversing Moskal’s decision on the temporary injunction, the appellate court said it is possible that someone does have standing to bring the case, just not the ones currently named as plaintiffs.
Brooke Muckerman is the education and children’s issues and politics reporter for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com.
Lucas Finton covers crime, policing, jails, the courts and criminal justice policy for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by phone or email: (901)208-3922 and Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, and followed on X @LucasFinton.
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WVLT) – The Tennessee Division of Forestry said a wildfire began burning in Pigeon Forge on Monday and is not contained.
According to the forestry division’s wildfire tracking map, the fire on Rocky Creek Way was first reported Monday evening. As of 10 p.m., it had grown to two acres in size and was 0% contained.
Additional information, including how many crews have responded and if any homes or businesses are in danger, hasn’t been released.
This is a developing story.
Copyright 2026 WVLT. All rights reserved.
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