Latest & Breaking News on Fox News
· collected 2026-09-06 · by Matt Reigle
The Tennessee Volunteers football team paid tribute to Dolly Parton during their 2026 season opener at Neyland Stadium, where 102,000 fans attended. The tributes included an orange butterfly decal with Parton's name on every player's helmet and a sing-along to her hit song "I Will Always Love You" during the game. Head coach Josh Heupel praised Parton for her impact on East Tennessee and her commitment to giving back, calling her "the Queen of East Tennessee". The team played Dolly Parton's "My Tennessee Mountain Home" instead of their usual fourth-quarter song, a potential new tradition.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Tennessee Volunteers football team paid tribute to Dolly Parton at their season opener, which took place on Saturday. The tribute included an orange butterfly decal with her name on it on the back of every player's helmet, and the entire crowd of 102,000 fans at Neyland Stadium joined in by singing "Happy Birthday" during a special moment of recognition for the late music legend. Head coach Josh Heupel spoke about Parton's impact and legacy, calling her the "Queen of East Tennessee". The decal will remain on the helmets for the rest of the season.
Written for “Dollywood Tribute at Football Game” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 5489 · logged 2026-09-06
The death of country music, movie, theme park and, frankly, all-around icon Dolly Parton hit a lot of people hard.
asserted
death → hit → people
That includes folks in her home state of Tennessee, a place she was virtually synonymous with.
asserted
she → include → Tennessee
On Saturday, the Tennessee Volunteers football team opened its 2026 season, and the entire Neyland Stadium crowd paid tribute to the late legend.
asserted
crowd → open → legend
It was announced ahead of the game that one of the tributes to Parton — an orange butterfly decal with her name on it — would be on the back of every Volunteers player's helmet.
asserted
one → announce → helmet
Head coach Josh Heupel revealed that the decal will be sticking around all season long.
asserted
decal → reveal → ?
"All that she's meant across the world, this country, and certainly the Queen of East Tennessee," Heupel said, per ESPN.
asserted
Heupel → mean → ESPN
You look at her impact, just her ability to give back, make an impact to people, certainly here in East Tennessee.
asserted
You → look → Tennessee
She means a lot to people across this country, but certainly here inside the state of Tennessee, too."
asserted
She → mean → Tennessee
The Volunteers hosted the Furman Paladins on Saturday, and there were more tributes on the way during the game.
asserted
Volunteers → host → game
Perhaps the biggest came when the entire stadium — 102,000 fans strong — joined together to sing Parton's 1974 hit "I Will Always Love You" in unison.
asserted
I → come → unison
Probably more than a few people in the stands were cutting onions during that one.
What a moment.
But there was more.
asserted
people → cut → one
For the last couple of seasons, the Vols have played the Morgan Wallen song "The Way I Talk" during the fourth quarter.
asserted
I → play → quarter
It wouldn't be a shocker to see this become a new tradition, and just another example of how much Dolly Parton meant to the state of Tennessee.
asserted
Parton → see → Tennessee
