Steve Early could imagine the picture.
The Vol Network general manager knew that Johnny Majors was in the foreground of the old color photo. The legendary Tennessee football coach was kneeling on the field at Neyland Stadium with a football in his hand. Majors wore a V-neck sweater with “Tennessee” written across the front in an orange arc.
All he had to do was find the picture – and with the help of Vol Network CEO Glenn Thackston, he did. They found it in the opening pages of the 1985 media guide.
“It was exactly as I remembered it,” Early said.
The same was true of the words in the background above Majors’ head that had sparked Early’s eager search for the image: He needed proof of the “Home of the Vols” lettering that adorned the front of the Neyland Stadium press box.
That image, seared into Early’s memory and found in the Vol Network offices, was the catalyst for bringing the lettering back to Neyland Stadium as the centerpiece of Tennessee’s landmark deal with Pilot for the trademark rights to the home of Vols football.
“I always felt that ‘Home of the Vols’ should come back at some point in time,” Early said. “It just came to me.”
How “Home of the Vols” got into the Tennessee Pilot deal thanks to Steve Early
Early is an advocate of the Tennessee tradition.
A Knoxville native who graduated from West High School and then UT, he was hired by Vol Network in 1991 and has been general manager since 2004. Anything Vols-related is ingrained in Early, especially history.
“He understands it so well because he’s a Tennessee fan at heart and he loves the Vols and everything about Neyland Stadium,” said Alicia Longworth, UT’s assistant athletic director for external operations.
Tennessee, Vol Network and Pilot began negotiating the trademark rights a year before the August 13 announcement.
The groups sought to honor tradition while modernizing it, a core principle of athletic director Danny White and his administration. It’s a principle that speaks to Early’s heart.
He quickly had an idea.
“Anything that can recognize the true spirit of Tennessee is a huge win,” Early said.
The “Home of the Vols” lettering was placed on the old press box that was built on the west side of Neyland Stadium in 1962. This press box was demolished in 1987 and a new one was built. The lettering was not re-placed on the facade.
Early mentioned the orange letters that once graced the stadium in discussions about branding concepts. Longworth’s description of it as an “aha moment” was immediately interesting. But there had to be an example or proof of the past edition.
So the search for a picture began. There aren’t many pictures of the former press box. Early knew he would find one. He had the picture in his head, which he turned into the evidence he needed. Thackston found the press guide where the picture would appear, and they found it in less than a minute of searching.
Early took a photo with his cell phone and sent it to Longworth. The photo sealed his decision as the right choice.
“Sometimes you know when something is working,” said Ryan Alpert, Tennessee’s assistant athletic director for championship resources and chief revenue officer. “I think everyone in the room was like, ‘There it is. This is perfect.'”
Why “Home of the Vols” was perfect for Tennessee and Pilot deal
Tennessee’s leadership was excited about the return of the “Home of the Vols” slogan. The same goes for Pilot’s new leadership, which seamlessly integrated with UT during the year-long process, finding a balance between tradition and modernity.
Renaming Neyland Stadium was never up for debate. The goal of the contract, which will initially run for up to 20 years and whose financial terms were not disclosed, was to create tasteful branding.
“We have a very, very glorious and historic past in Tennessee,” Alpert said. “We don’t want to shirk that. We don’t want to change that. We want to embrace the past. We also want to find ways to honor it and modernize ourselves for the future.”
All parties wanted to display Pilot somewhere other than the field and inside the stadium, not outside. One idea was to use the boardwalk in some form. But since White arrived in January 2021, the possibility of adding something to the front of the eastern skyboxes has been raised repeatedly.
This location made sense because of the overall structure and aesthetics. Language was equally important. Putting “Pilot welcomes you” before “Home of the Vols” was one idea.
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They settled on a final version with matching Pilot logos on each side of the skyboxes, with “Home of the Vols” standing alone. The center has tradition and history. It is flanked by the two Pilot logos. All elements have modern accents with LED lights.
The story is in the foreground.
“You only have one chance to get it right,” Early said. “Everyone wanted it to look appropriate, striking, but also nostalgic.”
It’s still Neyland Stadium. It will be maintained by Pilot, which Alpert called the “perfect partner” during the process.
“They understand what the University of Tennessee means to East Tennessee and Knoxville,” Longworth said.
The lettering was installed in early August by the same company that installed the VOLS letters on the southeast and southwest corners of the stadium. The Pilot logos were added after the announcement, the culmination of months of work.
This was made possible by a targeted search for a 29-year-old photo of Johnny Majors.
Mike Wilson covers athletics at the University of Tennessee. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilsonIf you like Mike’s reporting, consider a digital subscription that gives you access to all content.
