When you walked inside Neyland-Thompson Sports Center on Oct. 28, a place normally reserved for UT’s athletes, there was a buzz in the air and a preview of Halloween night. It’s a yearly tradition where Tennessee Athletics and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee come together and invite all UT faculty, staff and their families to come play games, and get candy and other prizes.
Voloween is a tradition started 12 years ago as a way to give back to the campus community and bridge the gap between athletics and the broader campus.
Jessica Wildfire, the executive director for Student Athlete Development, talked about the athletes’ enthusiasm for this event. According to Wildfire, each team has a SAAC representative, and those representatives get to decide what activity their team will be hosting.
“It’s really become a tradition within not just campus but within athletics. … Our student athletes look forward to having stations,” Wildfire said. “Our student athletes really look forward to it every year.”
This year’s activities included sack races hosted by men’s swim and dive team, pin the tail on Smokey with softball, and a photo booth and balloon animals with the spirit squad. Face painting, crafts and an inflatable slide were hosted by track and field, as well as many other activities with different sports. Of course there was candy given out at almost every station, and Smokey made an appearance dressed as Mr. Potato Head.
Women’s track and field pole vaulter Ellison Colarossi took a break from face painting to tell us that every athlete is involved with Voloween in some aspect, from setting up to running or hosting the event. Colarossi is now an SAAC officer, having been promoted from a SAAC representative. Last year she helped with the setup, and this year she helped to make sure things ran smoothly.
Colarossi shared just how much she’s seen the event grow in just the few short years she’s been involved. With additional student athletes volunteering and more games being added, Voloween has significantly expanded.
“More staff has been reached out to so they bring a lot more kids. I think overall it’s just gotten bigger,” Colarossi said.
It is important for all campus staff to be invited — kids or no kids. “Everyone who’s helped the athletes to be able to do their thing is welcomed here. It’s a way to reach out to them for all they’ve done for the athletes,” Colarossi said.
The event is meaningful for the athletes as well. Having the entire university staff come to Voloween communicates to the athletes that they are a part of the community, the school and their sport.
Ron Windham, an instructor at the Air Force ROTC detachment, shares his first Voloween experience with his family.
“We just got here in June so we’re just trying to take advantage of all the different opportunities that campus and UT allows for,” Windham said.
As families mingle and move through the different events, Windham said how it is an awesome and invaluable experience to see the interactions between kids and athletes. Windham described his favorite aspects of the event.
“All the individual interactions with the athletes. Getting to know what sport they play, their background and introduce the kids,” Windham said.
“We really strive in athletics to make sure our student athletes have a sense of gratitude for how the campus supports them in their sport and in their academic endeavors. … Teaching them the importance of giving back to the people who invest in them is really important,” Wildfire said.
In the end, Voloween is about Vols giving back.
“I’m a teacher, so I love kids. It’s the interaction with the kids and seeing all the student athletes reach out. It gives kids a chance to meet the football players, meet the baseball players and kinda have their ‘oh my gosh’ moment because they see these athletes compete all the time,” Colarossi said.
