As campus begins to bustle again with the return of the new school year, several of Tennessee’s fall sports are already underway with new campaigns.
Beginning prior to last year’s fall slate, Tennessee Athletics introduced “T-Credits,” a points system designed to reward students who attend the largest number of sporting events throughout the season. These credits count most toward increasing the likelihood of attaining football tickets, aside from various other prizes the program offers.
After a successful year that saw new attendance records for sports like Tennessee volleyball, “T-Credits” will make a return in 2025.
Here are some events to look for as the rhythm of the fall sports season kicks into gear.
Aug. 20: Soccer at UCLA
The third match of the season sends the Lady Vols way out west for a battle with UCLA.
Last season’s bout at Regal Soccer Stadium ended in a stalemate, a scoreless draw where Tennessee tallied only six shots on goal. The Lady Vols hope to flip that script this go around, albeit away from home against the reigning Big Ten champion Bruins.
Aug. 23: Soccer at LMU
The Lady Vols will hang around Los Angeles for their first-ever meeting with Loyola Marymount.
The Lions placed fifth in the West Coast Conference standings in 2024, a campaign that featured a defeat of No. 13 Pepperdine. Tennessee won’t have any hesitancy to empty the tank in this one as eight days separate the Lady Vols from their next contest following this match.
Aug. 23: Volleyball at Dayton
Tennessee volleyball returns to the court for its season opener with Dayton, fresh off a fourth consecutive run to the NCAA Tournament.
Head coach Eve Rackham Watt’s group looks to be poised for an even bigger year in 2025, welcoming back star setter Caroline Kerr for her redshirt junior season, along with some new faces. A stacked SEC field awaits, though, and Tennessee will have to show more than it did a year ago if it wants to find itself atop the standings come postseason.
Aug. 26: Volleyball Orange & White Scrimmage
One of the first home events of the semester gives students and fans a chance to see Rackham Watt’s squad open up a new-look Food City Center.
A new overhead video board will showcase the proceedings of the Orange & White Scrimmage as new Lady Vols will try to get acclimated to the backdrops of the big arena, an underrated element of the game that sometimes needs to be dialed in for younger players.
Aug. 29: Volleyball vs. USF – 1 “T-Credit” opportunity
This time, it’s for real as the Lady Vols host USF in their home opener.
Last year’s home debut against eventual national champion Penn State set a new program attendance record of 6,193 fans, a number that nearly doubled the previous mark from a match with Kentucky in 2021.
Students who attend this bout with the Bulls can earn one “T-Credit” by checking in via the Tennessee Athletics app once inside the arena.
Aug. 30: Football vs. Syracuse in Atlanta
Even though Neyland Stadium will sit dormant for another week, the action of the first week of the college football season will no doubt be in full swing when Tennessee and Syracuse kick things off at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Vols will finally have the chance to get down to football, plain and simple, after a long offseason marred by drama and off-the-field storylines. The numerous questions surrounding Tennessee’s quarterback situation will all have to be answered, and whoever is calling the signals will need to be ready for the Orange defense.
