'I Will Always Love You': Tennessee holds multiple tributes for Dolly Parton

In Knoxville, there's no limit to how much Tennessee football and its fans love Dolly Parton, who reciprocated that love over the years. During the Volunteers' home opener Saturday against Furman, they showed just how much she meant to the program. The school paid homage to the iconic entertainer who died Aug. 25 at the age of 80 after being diagnosed with cancer. In between breaks and timeouts, Tennessee played tribute videos to the "9 to 5" singer, and one of the videos featured her hit song "I Will Always Love You." As the song played, over 102,000 fans sang their hearts out for the late star. Tennessee's "Pride of the Southland" marching band paid homage to Parton with a formation that spelled out "Dolly" and played a rendition of "9 to 5" that had fans clapping and singing along at the conclusion of the halftime field show. Honoring a legend in Neyland 🧡 pic.twitter.com/k9Txl3sTDh — SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 5, 2026 Normally, ahead of the fourth quarter at Neyland Stadium, Morgan Wallen's "The Way I Talk" is queued up on the PA system. However, Tennessee changed its fourth-quarter song to Parton's "My Tennessee Mountain Home," with the lyrics appearing on the screen for fans to follow along. Freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns to lead Tennessee to a 56-9 win over Furman.