KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Encouraging fans to get inside Neyland Stadium earlier than usual with President Donald Trump coming to Tennessee’s college football game against Texas sure worked Saturday.
Security checks on the stadium’s perimeter went relatively smoothly with Tennessee officials opening the stadium 30 minutes earlier than normal. Fans got half-price off concessions as a reward for showing up early, and Tennessee faithful had the stands half full 90 minutes before kickoff and nearly packed an hour before.
Those in their seats were treated to a low-altitude flyover by Air Force One as the president came into town with the Volunteers and Longhorns warming up on the field below. Trump landed at 11:28 a.m. EDT ahead of the noon kickoff, according to reporters traveling with the president.
Trump’s motorcade arrived at Neyland Stadium just as the national anthem was being sung at 11:59 a.m. Trump pumped his fist a couple of times when shown in his seat on the videoboards with Tennessee’s U.S. senators on either side. One of them, Marsha Blackburn, is running for governor of Tennessee.
The president’s motorcade left at 2:07 p.m. with the game in the second half.
The president’s visit didn’t appear to affect communications between coaches and players on the field thanks to some coordination before Saturday’s game.
Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said earlier this week that teams had to be ready to lose all communication on their headsets between coaches on the field and the players “anytime (Trump) enters the stadium, leaves the stadium or changes locations within the stadium.”
ABC/ESPN reported Saturday that both schools worked with the Secret Service on audio channels in hopes of keeping communications clear, noting an official timeout for a serious disruption could be an option.
The Southeastern Conference matchup between the No. 1 Longhorns and No. 14 Volunteers in Knoxville already was one of the biggest games in the country this weekend. Trump came to watch Texas quarterback Arch Manning play for the first time in the stadium where his uncle Peyton became famous.
Tom Brenner via Getty Images
How A Presidential Visit Can Affect Radio Communications
Trump has attended more college football games than any recent sitting president, and he arrived in Knoxville in the midst of a midterm election season and a heated debate over the role of money in college sports that Congress is trying to resolve. He has attended national championship games and regular season contests in the SEC and Army vs. Navy.
He also attended Game 3 of the NBA finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs in June, went to the 2025 Daytona 500 car race, and presented the World Cup trophy to Spain at the final in July. And last year, he was the first president to attend a Super Bowl. He left the Super Bowl after halftime.
Headset communications emerged as the latest subplot surrounding this presidential visit. Coaches communicate with each other on their headsets throughout the game and also call in plays to the quarterback. Disruptions to those communications, from a deafening crowd, technical glitch or presidential security measure, can present problems for coaches and teams.
Coaches involved in last season’s College Football Playoff championship between Miami and Indiana in New Orleans cited that game as an example of how Trump’s movements affected them.
Trump left in the fourth quarter of a tense Indiana 27-21 victory. Sarkisian said Miami coach Mario Cristobal told him Trump’s leaving at that point disrupted communications on the Hurricanes’ final possession, which ended with a game-clinching interception.
Indiana coach Curt Signetti disputed Sarkisian’s version of events around the final drive. But Cignetti noted communications briefly cut off in a key moment of the fourth quarter as Indiana was trying to protect its lead.
In his weekly radio show on Thursday, Cignetti recalled that when Trump left the game “around the 7-minute mark … there were two or three plays we couldn’t hear at all.”
That included a misdirection touchdown run by Miami’s Malachi Toney.
“Communication device came back right after the (Toney’s) touchdown,” Cignetti said. “And we had no problem the rest of the game.”
According to the media pool report of Trump’s movements at the game, the president left the stadium with “with just under 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter.”
Tom Brenner via Getty Images
The White House on Friday insisted 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 White House posted on X.
It’s unclear if Trump’s presence at other games like the Super Bowl have created issues. An NFL spokesman declined to comment Friday when asked if league officials work with the Secret Service when a president attends a game like the Super Bowl to minimize any impact on team communications.
Trump’s Visit To Neyland Stadium
University of Tennessee officials sent a midweek advisory encouraging fans to arrive “significantly earlier” than for a typical game. Neyland Stadium has an official capacity of 101,915 with this game the 30th consecutive sellout.
Fans were warned of the Secret Service conducting enhanced screening at the stadium gates and to “expect increased wait times as kickoff approaches.”
Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas.