Big Orange Caravan draws top-notch crowd in Kingsport
Vols fans to play important role as landscape of collegiate athletics shifts
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) – The Model City played host to the final, and most well-attended, stop on this year’s Big Orange Caravan tour.
There were plenty of them, young and the young at heart, out to support Tennessee and catch a glimpse at some of the school’s favorite coaches. Head football coach, Josh Heupel, and head men’s basketball coach, Rick Barnes, are veterans of the circuit.
But, this has been the first statewide journey for new boss of the Lady Vols, Kim Caldwell.
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“You have lines of people that want your autograph,” she said. “I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
“It’s just been a really good experience for me – and again, it’s a humbling experience when you walk out here and see these fans.”
For Heupel there’s no question – Big Orange nation is the biggest and best fan base in the entire country.
“That’s huge, because our players feel that energy,” he explained. “They were a huge part of us flipping the culture and what we were doing on the football field. They’re vitally important in our recruiting efforts.”
In this emerging era of the transfer portal and Name-Image-Likeness (NIL) compensation, recruiting and re-recruiting has become an even bigger priority for college coaches across all sports. Barnes said it’s a huge advantage to have the ‘Power T’ on his side.
“When you bring a recruit into a basketball game or any of those other events- they feel it,” he said. “It’s something special about Rocky Top.”
“We actually talked to some guys the other day – and I love it when they say ‘We’re looking forward to visiting Rocky Top.'”
Director of Athletics, Danny White, went as far as to say the Vols fans are more important now than they’ve ever been to the university’s success.
“The passion of fans is what makes college sports special,” he said. “The connection to university, and in our case, statewide pride.”
“It’s our job to find ways to build an awesome experience and build unique ways for fans to connect with our team,” he continued, “and ultimately find ways to generate revenue, as well. There’s never been a time as much as we are in right now – in the history of college sports – where revenue will have an enormous impact on competitive success.”
As it stands, eight of the Vols’ nine spring sports are ranked in the Top 16, nationally – including Top-2 rankings for baseball and softball. It’s a trend that he would like to see continue on Rocky Top.
“We talk about building a championship culture and serious-minded men and women that come to Tennessee to make the most of themselves as a person, as a student, as an athlete – and how that can rub off on each other.”
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