Tennessee was hoping to induce fans to show up early for Saturday’s marquee game against Texas to offset expected logistics issues surrounding President Trump’s arrival.
The school offered 50 percent off all concessions — including alcohol sales — inside Neyland Stadium in the hour beginning at 9 a.m. before the noon clash between the Volunteers and Arch Manning and the top-ranked Longhorns.
With ESPN’s “College GameDay” also on campus, Trump’s presence is typically expected to cause heightened security in Knoxville.
No. 14 Tennessee has won its first three games this season, while Texas (3-0) has topped the polls since its comeback win over former No. 1 Ohio State two weeks ago.
Trump announced earlier this week that he will be in attendance, and the school decided to open the parking lots at 6 a.m. and the stadium gates at 9, a half-hour earlier than usual to accommodate the expected delays and give fans an additional incentive to arrive early with the half-price concessions.
“GameDay” was shown on the scoreboard for those who took advantage of the early admission.
The game will mark Manning’s first NCAA game played in the stadium where his uncle Peyton played his college ball.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian acknowledged earlier this week that on-field communications also could be impacted by the president’s presence, saying the teams were told that headsets could be disrupted “anytime [Trump] enters the stadium, leaves the stadium or changes locations within the stadium.”
“They cut the headsets to coaches. They cut headsets for coach-to-player communication. So you have to have a plan for that, if and when it happens, and you get no warning. It just gets cut out,” Sarkisian added. “You have to have a plan to adjust if and when he comes in the middle of the first quarter, leaves in the fourth quarter, or decides he’s got to use the restroom.”
Trump attended the College Football Playoff championship game in January between Indiana and Miami, but left in the fourth quarter of the Hoosiers’ win.
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said during his weekly radio show this week that communications briefly cut off during the final quarter.
“Around the seven-minute mark, there were two or three plays we couldn’t hear at all, he said.
The White House posted on X on that Trump’s departure caused no problems for the teams.
“No, President Trump’s departure from the CFP championship in January did not cause headset or comms issues for the teams,” the X post stated.
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