Morgan Wallen Is Out, Dolly Parton Is In: Tennessee To Debut New 4th-Quarter Tradition at Neyland Stadium

The Tennessee Volunteers are entering the college football season with a tribute to Dolly Parton. The country music icon recently passed away at 80 years old.

This year, the Volunteers are not honoring Parton by selecting one of her songs as their fourth-quarter anthem. They’re also slightly changing football players’ helmet designs.

As shared on X by the Tennessee Football account: “A commemorative helmet sticker will be worn to honor Dolly Parton for every game this season.”

The “sticker” features an orange butterfly with Parton’s name across the center.

Song-wise, the Volunteers have consistently used Morgan Wallen’s “The Way I Talk” as their fourth-quarter anthem since 2024. Right now, it’s unclear which Parton song they’ll choose to replace it. It seems they might wait until their game against Furman University to officially reveal the song change.

Head Coach Speaks on Dolly Parton’s Legacy

Parton, who sold over 100 million records, was a well-known East Tennessee native. In interviews, she often spoke about how her childhood in the Smoky Mountains shaped her.

In a press conference, head coach Josh Heupel spoke highly of Parton and her legacy. He even called her “The Queen Of East Tennessee.”

“I’d be remiss if I didn’t also talk about the passing of Dolly Parton, and all that she’s meant across the world, to this country, and certainly the Queen of East Tennessee, and a lady that was extremely proud of her roots,” he said.

Following much of her early career success, Parton created ways to give back to the people of her community, which included founding her Imagination Library in 1995 and Dollywood in 1986. She was not only a star, but also a humanitarian.

“You look at her impact, just her ability to give back and make an impact to people,” Heupel continued. “Certainly here in East Tennessee, she means a lot to people across this country, but certainly here and inside the state of Tennessee too. So, we’ll be wearing a sticker patch on the back of our helmet to recognize her accomplishments and everything that she’s meant and had an impact here on Tennessee.”

 Photo by: Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images