Alabama radio announcer Chris Stewart made waves earlier this week when a clip of his call from Tennessee’s 24-17 win over the Crimson Tide went viral.
On just the second play of the game, Stewart discussed the noise at Neyland Stadium and said that the Vols “pipe in crowd noise” on top of having 100,000-plus fans in attendance. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and center Cooper Mays both met with the media on Wednesday and provided their perspective on the claim.
Ala Michael Jordan in the Last Dance, Josh Heupel wants Tennessee fans to take the claim personally and encouraged them to come back with even more energy and fire when the Vols host Kentucky out of the open date in two weeks.
“I had not heard that,” Heupel said of the claim. “Neyland doesn’t need anything fake piped into the stadium for that to be the loudest place in America. Hopefully our fans take that personally, enjoy this bye week and come back and be louder than ever next time we’re at home.”
Josh Heupel responds to the suggestion that Tennessee uses fake noise in Neyland Stadium on Wednesday:
“Neyland doesn’t need anything fake, piped into the stadium for that to be the loudest place in America…” pic.twitter.com/2vqmqetmwl
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) October 23, 2024
More From RTI: Everything Tennessee HC Josh Heupel Said Wednesday During The Vols Open Date
Mays had the same feelings as Heupel about the crowd noise being authentic and as loud as anywhere in the country, but he had a different perspective on how fans should look at it.
Neyland Stadium has reasserted itself as one of the best environments in college football in recent year with Tennessee’s return to relevance. It received an abundance of praise following the Vols’ win over Alabama with CBS Sports’ Josh Pate calling it “the best that it gets in college football” while ABC sideline reporter Molly McGrath called it “the loudest, wildest environment I’ve ever seen.”
Over the last three seasons, Tennessee is 17-1 at Neyland Stadium with its lone loss coming against No. 1 Georgia last November. Included in those 17 wins are a pair of victories over both Florida and Alabama.
