Neyland Stadium



Neyland Stadium 

History
The present day Neyland Stadium, Shields-Watkins Field, had its beginning in 1919. Col. W.S. Shields, president of Knoxville's City National Bank and a UT trustee, provided the initial capital to prepare and equip an athletic field. Thus, when the field was completed in March 1921, it was called Shields-Watkins Field in honor of the donor and his wife, Alice Watkins-Shields.

The stadium, apart from the field it grew to enclose, came to bear its own distinguished name -- Neyland Stadium. It was named for the man most responsible for the growth and development of Tennessee's proud football tradition. General Robert R. Neyland served as head coach from 1926-1952, with two interruptions for military service.

General Robert Neyland  posted a 173-31-12 record in 21 seasons as Tennessee's head football coach. A twice life-size statue of Neyland at the stadium was dedicated in November 2010.

The history and tradition of Tennessee football began when Gen. Robert Reese Neyland came to Tennessee as an ROTC instructor and backfield coach in 1925 and was named head football coach in 1926. From that date, Tennessee was in the college football arena to stay.

Neyland, who came to Tennessee as an Army captain and left as a brigadier general, brought one of the most efficient single-wing offenses in the country to go with an unyielding defense. It was Gene McEver who kicked off the Neyland era with his 98-yard return of the opening kickoff in the 1928 Alabama game, a game the underdog Vols won 15-13. Each of his succeeding eras would be highlighted by similar big plays. Johnny Butler's 56-yard run against Alabama in 1939 and Hank Lauricella's 75-yard run against Texas in the 1951 Cotton Bowl.

Neyland's 1939 Vols were the last to shut out each of its regular season opponents. Over the course of his career, 112 of 216 opponents failed to score against his Tennessee teams and the Vols still own an NCAA record for holding opponents scoreless for 71 consecutive quarters.

Neyland's teams won Southern Conference titles in 1927 and 1932, piling up undefeated streaks of 33 and 28 games along the way, and SEC championships in 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946 and 1951. In addition, Neyland-coached teams won four national championships. The Vols were consensus national champions in 1951 and Neyland's 21-year record at Tennessee was 173-31-12.

His legacy continues to live through his name on the football stadium, the indoor football complex and the road paralleling the Tennessee River.

Quick Facts 

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">First game as Shields-Watkins Field: <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> Sept. 24, 1921 - Tennessee 27, Emory & Henry 0.

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Dedication game as Neyland Stadium: <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> Oct. 20, 1962 - Alabama 27, Tennessee 7.

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">First game on artificial turf: <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> Sept. 14, 1968 - Tennessee 17, Georgia 17.

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Final game on artificial turf: <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> Nov. 27, 1993 - Tennessee 62, Vanderbilt 14.

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Attendance: <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> Since attendance records were first kept beginning in the 1946 season, more than 25 million fans have watched Big Orange football in Neyland Stadium. An average of 68,925 fans have attended 364 games in 58 years. That statistic is one that promises to climb each year, as Tennessee football enthusiasts pack the stadium each autumn Saturday the Vols are home. Average attendance has been on climb since 1946, when an average of 31,167 saw six home contests.

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Tennessee success at Shields-Watkins Field: <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> In 82 seasons and 509 games, the Vols are 398-94-17 at home, a winning percentage of .799.

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Consecutive home games without a loss: <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> 55, beginning Oct. 3, 1925, with a 51-0 victory against Emory & Henry and ending Oct. 21, 1933, with a 12-6 loss to Alabama.

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Consecutive home wins: <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> 30, beginning Dec. 8, 1928, with a 13-12 win against Florida and ending Oct. 21, 1933, with a 12-6 loss to Alabama.

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Consecutive home losses: <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> 4, beginning Nov. 13, 1954, with a 14-0 loss to Florida and ending Oct. 8, 1955, with a 13-0 win against Chattanooga, beginning Sept. 10, 1988, with a 31-26 loss to Duke and ending Nov. 5, 1988, with a 10-7 win against Boston College.

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Winning seasons: <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> Tennessee has had 74 winning seasons in 88 years at Shields-Watkins Field, including 35 undefeated years at home. The last team to go undefeated at home was the 1999 squad, which was 7-0 at Neyland Stadium.

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Largest Crowd: <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> 109,061 - Sept. 18, 2004 - Tennessee 30, Florida 28

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">First Night Game at Neyland Stadium: <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> Sept. 16, 1972 - Tennessee 28, Penn State 21.