Neyland Stadium sings for Dolly Parton as Tennessee Volunteers carry her name through 2026 season
East Tennessee has lost one of its most recognizable figures, and at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, the scale of that grief became concrete. A crowd of 102,000 Tennessee Volunteers fans joined together to sing Dolly Parton's 1974…
Key takeaways
- A crowd of 102,000 Tennessee Volunteers fans sang Dolly Parton's 1974 hit "I Will Always Love You" during the program's 2026 season opener against Furman on Saturday.
- An orange butterfly decal bearing Parton's name will appear on the back of every Tennessee player's helmet for the full 2026 season, as announced by head coach Josh Heupel.
- Tennessee played Parton's "My Tennessee Mountain Home" during the fourth quarter against Furman, replacing Morgan Wallen's "The Way I Talk" used the prior couple of seasons.
- Former quarterback Peyton Manning paid tribute, saying "Tennessee won't be the same without her."
- The state is separately moving to rename the Nashville airport in Parton's honor, a process that began in the days following her death.
East Tennessee has lost one of its most recognizable figures, and at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, the scale of that grief became concrete. A crowd of 102,000 Tennessee Volunteers fans joined together to sing Dolly Parton's 1974 hit "I Will Always Love You" during the program's 2026 season opener against the Furman Paladins.
The tribute was announced before kickoff. Head coach Josh Heupel told the stadium that an orange butterfly decal bearing Parton's name would appear on the back of every player's helmet and confirmed it would carry through the full season. Heupel drew a direct line between what she meant to the state and why the program wanted a physical marker on the field. "All that she's meant across the world, this country, and certainly the Queen of East Tennessee," he said, per ESPN. He described her as "extremely proud of her roots" and pointed to her record of giving back to people in East Tennessee and across the country. "She means a lot to people across this country," he added, "but certainly here inside the state of Tennessee, too."
A game-day tradition remade
With those tributes framed before the opening whistle, the crowd took over during the game. The full stadium joined in for "I Will Always Love You." Former quarterback Peyton Manning, who also paid public tribute, said it plainly: "Tennessee won't be the same without her."
The program made one further adjustment. Tennessee has played Morgan Wallen's "The Way I Talk" during the fourth quarter for the last couple of seasons. Against the Furman Paladins on Saturday, it ran Parton's "My Tennessee Mountain Home" in that slot instead. Whether that substitution carries through the rest of the schedule is not confirmed, though the season-long decal signals that the program's intentions extend well beyond a single weekend.
The state is separately moving to rename the Nashville airport in Parton's honor, a process that began in the days following her death.
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