UTK tops Attendance Records

Michael Folkerth

6 months ago

UT Knoxville topped national attendance records across football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball events during the 2023-24 season with a total of 1,161,218 attendees across 38 home events.

A crowd of attendees fill the Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. — UT Knoxville topped national attendance records across football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball events during the 2023-24 season with a total of 1,161,218 attendees across 38 home events.

Denbo Center Dedicated

The Denbo Center for Humanities and Arts within the College of Arts and Sciences was dedicated and named for Don Denbo (Knoxville ’71), a former Vol football star, who advocates for an education grounded in the humanities. The Denbo Center will support arts and humanities research and advocate for the essential role of the arts and humanities in the world today. The center promotes interdisciplinary public conversation and research surrounding the academic, social and cultural issues central to human development. Core initiatives of the center include residential fellowships for UT faculty and graduate students; research, travel and publication support through grants, workshops and seminars; and public arts and humanities outreach—building local, regional, national and international partnerships.

Ribbon Cut for Baker School

The Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs was officially dedicated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Baker School, the first of its kind across Tennessee’s public universities, prepares future generations for roles in government, public policy and public service, following in the footsteps of its namesake. The Institute of American Civics, housed in the Baker School, also announced its new Civic Leadership Lecture Series, which will bring experts from across the country to examine issues and ideas foundational to American society. The series is intended to promote better citizenship through thoughtful and respectful debate and discussion.

Record and Rankings

In U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best Online Education Programs rankings, the university achieved high marks for Best Online Programs for Veterans, Best Online Master’s in Business Programs (non-MBA category) and Best Online Master’s in Engineering Programs. The Haslam College of Business’ supply chain programs ranked fourth nationally—and third among public institutions in the 2024-2025 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools report.
Among the SEC, UT Knoxville was a lead producer of Fulbright scholars for a sixth consecutive year ranking second.

Innovative Partnerships

Chancellor Donde Plowman joined Arizona State University President Michael Crow to discuss a groundbreaking partnership between the two institutions that will expand access to higher education. The partnership addresses the needs of modern learners, including those who are unable to participate in traditional campus settings and working adults with families pursuing further education. Nearly 1 million people in Tennessee have some college credit but no degree.
Five faculty entrepreneurs who have developed technologies with the potential for commercialization have had their projects selected for the inaugural Chancellor’s Innovation Fund. These faculty, whose research ranges from athletic field safety to quantum computing, will each receive $50,000 and the support they need to help move their technology from the lab toward the marketplace.