On an otherwise typical afternoon last fall, prototype Tennessee football uniforms by Adidas were slipped into Neyland Stadium and the gates were closed behind them.

It was a need-to-know operation.

Alicia Longworth, UT athletics chief marketing officer, and her creative team carried the package they were all eager to open.

At the time, UT was finishing its final year with Nike, but it was preparing to launch a 10-year contract with Adidas as its official apparel on July 1, 2026.

Adidas had just shipped prototype uniforms from its North American headquarters in Portland, Oregon, to Knoxville as its first attempt at the Vols' unique tone of orange.

Specifically, the orange is Pantone 151C. But different fabrics and lighting display the color differently, so Longworth’s team brought those uniforms into Neyland Stadium to see how they looked in a gameday setting.

They looked at them in daylight. They looked at them under stadium lights at night. They looked at them on the green grass and how the orange paired with white.

Those uniforms weren’t meant for the public eye, at least not yet. The boxes in which they were carried didn’t reveal the contents inside. And they weren’t opened until the coast was clear.

No players were allowed to see the uniforms at that time out of fear that a photo of the prototypes could leak onto social media.

“We’re creative and branding folks, so it’s not like we do covert ops missions that often. But it kind of felt like that,” said Longworth, acknowledging the humor of the situation.

“At a place like Tennessee with a brand this size and a fan base this passionate, we all get a little anxious about it. Getting the color orange right was the first thing that we needed to do.”

Here's when Tennessee will unveil new Adidas uniforms

Tennessee will unveil its new Adidas uniforms in multiple sports with daily releases on social media: Orange uniforms on July 6; white uniforms on July 7; Summitt blue uniforms for select women’s sports on July 8; dark mode football uniforms on July 9.

New Adidas merchandise will hit stores on July 10, and more products will be added throughout the football season.

Here's what else the Adidas contract will do for Tennessee: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/football/2026/07/01/tennessees-football-adidas-uniforms-new-design/90660660007/

Tennessee athletics director Danny White earned $577,500 in annual bonuses to push his total compensation past $3.3 million as one of the highest paid ADs in the country.

Some incentives came from underperforming sports. For example, White was paid $55,000 because the football team played in the Music City Bowl and the women’s basketball team appeared in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Both teams lost.

Despite some disappointing performances in 2025-26, UT still hit enough benchmarks in athletic and academic performance to reward White.

UT finished 15th in the Learfield Directors' Cup all-sports standings and posted high academic scores. The men’s basketball team advanced to the Elite Eight. Women’s rowing and women’s golf each won SEC titles.

Those feats contributed to White’s bonus package.

White narrowly fell short of the $600,000 maximum in bonuses allowed in his contract, which he exceeded last year. But he still earned $3.33 million in 2025-26, including $2.75 million in base salary and $577,500 in bonuses.

White remains one of the highest-paid ADs at a public university in the country. His closest competition is Texas’ Chris Del Conte, who earned $2.9 million in base salary plus performance bonuses. Most private universities don’t disclose contract details.

Here's a full breakdown of White's bonuses: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/football/2026/06/29/danny-white-bonus-tennessee-athletics-director-pay-contract-salary/90314157007/

Peyton Manning said he's a big fan of George MacIntyre, but he's not choosing a side in the ongoing Tennessee quarterback competition.

MacIntyre is serving as a camp counselor at the Manning Passing Academy, but he was not made available to interviews. Manning, however, spoke briefly to the USA TODAY Network on June 26 about MacIntyre, who is battling five-star freshman Faizon Brandon for the Vols' starting quarterback spot.

"I'm a big fan of George. I knew George when he was coming out of high school, and I'm always trying to be a resource to our Tennessee quarterbacks," Manning said. "He's a great kid. He's a hard worker. And I'm looking forward to watching his career."

Manning's relationship with MacIntyre dates back to at least Tennessee's epic win over Alabama in 2022. At that time, MacIntyre was a sophomore quarterback at Brentwood Academy and one of the nation's top quarterback recruits. Manning was a Vols legend savoring a long-awaited win over the Crimson Tide.

Manning and MacIntyre shared a moment in the Tennessee locker room while Manning smoked a victory cigar. They've talked frequently ever since, and MacIntyre has called Manning a major influence on his career.

Here's more of what Manning said about MacIntyre and Brandon from the Manning Passing Academy: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/football/2026/06/26/peyton-manning-george-macintyre-faizon-brandon-tennessee-football-quarterback-passing-academy/90659987007/

Tennessee fell out of the top 10 of the Learfield Directors' Cup all-sports standings for the first time in four years, ending the best run in school history.

Underperforming football, baseball, women’s basketball and men’s tennis teams accounted for much of the decline. They each took sizable steps backward compared to recent seasons.

In fact, losing the Music City Bowl cost the Vols valuable points in the final calculation of the all-sports trophy.

Tennessee finished 15th in the 2025-26 Directors’ Cup final standings with 964.75 points. Texas won the Division I award for a third straight year with 1,322 points. Stanford, UCLA, North Carolina and Virginia rounded out the top five.

The Directors' Cup standings were tight between 10th-place Ohio State to 15th-place Tennessee. They were separated by only 106.5 points, so each misstep by a UT team proved costly.

Tennessee still finished in the top 15 for a fifth straight year, the longest streak in school history. The Vols had strong performances in various sports throughout the school year. Women’s rowing finished third nationally. Men’s basketball placed fifth. Men’s and women’s swimming also finished fifth.

Tennessee also had a strong finish. Softball advanced to the national semifinal at the Women’s College World Series, losing to eventual national champion Texas. And the men’s track and field placed third in the NCAA outdoor championships.

But that late surge wasn’t enough to push Tennessee back into the top 10, where it had finished in the previous three years. Tennessee placed sixth in 2022-23, third in 2023-24 and sixth in 2024-25. Those remain the best three finishes in school history.

Here's a breakdown of why Tennessee came up short compared to recent banner years, including the impact of that Music City Bowl loss.

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/football/2026/06/25/tennessee-directors-cup-standings-football-music-city-bowl/90677976007/