Interesting happenings in the visiting team area after the game | The Knoxville Focus

Interesting happenings in the visiting team area after the game

Across Neyland Stadium, Tennessee fans often greet visiting teams with a mix of boos and applause as they take the field. Yet, below the South end of the stadium, a unique sequence of events unfolds after each game, witnessed by few outside the staff and participants.

The visiting team area, first constructed during the 1948 stadium expansion, has evolved over nearly eight decades, adding facilities such as a new media room. Despite its age, it remains a bustling zone of post-game coordination, emotion, and tradition.

Throughout college football, spaces for visiting teams frequently seem secondary in design. Still, these areas carry their own atmosphere, shaping the full experience of game day. For example, coaches sometimes record their radio interviews before attending the mandatory post-game press conference, creating tension with school staff waiting upstairs to share statements with the media.

Georgia head coach Jim Donnan suggested that Phillip Fulmer “ran up the score” with a late TD pass to Derrick Edmonds.

The 1996 post-game exchange following Tennessee’s matchup with Georgia reflected such drama. Later, off the air, Donnan casually asked his co-host Loran Smith about having dinner with Archie Manning the night before—and whether that conversation might have revealed parts of Georgia’s game plan. Moments like these, though unseen by fans, highlight the human side of intense competition.

Author’s Summary

Behind Neyland Stadium’s South end, quiet post-game moments reveal tension, camaraderie, and unscripted drama that define college football far beyond the scoreboard.

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The Knoxville Focus The Knoxville Focus — 2025-11-04

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