There’s a voice missing in Neyland Stadium this fall. Longtime sports information director and UT alumnus Haywood Harris died June 2 in Knoxville. He was 80.
Harris retired in 2000 but remained a fixture in the Athletics Department. He continued to work at football and basketball games, and it was his raspy voice that told reporters in the Neyland Stadium press box the official play-by-play.
Fans will remember Harris when they listen to the pregame radio show on the Vol Network. With Gus Manning, Harris co-hosted The Locker Room, one of the nation’s longest-running sports radio programs. This would have been the show’s 50th season.
General Robert R. Neyland hired Harris as sports information director in 1961. He was a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America Hall of Fame, the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, and the Tennessee Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.
