The sun was just beginning to rise yesterday morning as over 400 University of Tennessee students and partners climbed 55 flights of stairs in Neyland Stadium, the equivalent of the 110 stories of the World Trade Center.
This year marks the second year that the UT ROTC hosted a stair climb in Neyland, paying tribute to the first responders and victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Participants in the event included Army and Air Force ROTC cadets, staff members, UTPD officers, veterans and collegiate athletes.
The event started at 5:30 a.m. with ROTC leaders taking attendance and participants stretching to prepare for the physical activity.
“I was a little nervous,” Zoie Shuler, a sophomore kinesiology major climbing with the softball team, said. “I didn’t know how many stairs it was.”
Participants then entered the stadium as Major Holly Livingston — Air Force officer and assistant professor of aerospace studies — delivered brief remarks to the participants. Livingston shared her appreciation for the participants and reminded them once more about what the purpose of the event was.
“We vow as a country to never forget,” Livingston said.
Then, at 6:15 a.m., the climb began. Hundreds of shoes hit the concrete steps of the east and south sides of Neyland, and the rush didn’t stop until around 7:00 a.m.
“It took a lot of work, a lot of willpower,” Dax Tran, a freshman mechanical engineering major in the Air Force ROTC program, said. “It really puts into perspective how hard the firefighters worked on 9/11. It makes you want to work harder.”
But the meaning behind the climb, participants agreed, made the hard work worthwhile.
“It means a lot knowing that firefighters climbed up this amount of stairs. It kind of puts it into perspective,” Shuler said. “It’s really awesome.”
Livingston expressed being moved by the willingness of ROTC students to spend their morning paying tribute to an event that many of them were not alive to witness. Though 9/11 impacted everyone in different ways, what makes it extra impactful for military members and ROTC students is how heavily it influenced military practices, Livingston conveyed.
“For those of us who are in the military, it shaped our entire military careers,” Livingston said. “It was a life-changing, and really what feels like an earth-changing, kind of event.”
Livingston was responsible for the climb being held in Neyland for the first time last year. Before that, the event was held on the stairs of Ayres Hall. When Livingston witnessed the event being held on the hill during her first year at UT, she believed the memorial deserved a bigger, more formal venue.
“It was that moment that I was like, ‘This should be bigger,’” Livingston said. “There’s so much more to this.”
Despite not being witnesses of 9/11, students agreed with Livingston on the importance of the event and the thought that it needed a more official venue.
“Even though we weren’t alive at the time, it does mean a lot that we can still show that we care,” Erin Nuwer, a sophomore finance major climbing with the softball team, said.
To commemorate this day, UT joined hundreds of other organizations — in the city of Knoxville and around the country — in hosting a stair climb in honor of 9/11.
The University of Tennessee Army ROTC, Air Force ROTC and others participate in the annual Sept. 11 Memorial Stair Climb at Neyland Stadium. Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025.
