Dolly Parton died Aug. 25. She was 80.
The Tennessee native will be honored when the Vols kick off their 2026 football season on Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee will wear a helmet sticker to honor Parton. The Vols will face Furman (1-0) with kickoff slated for 3:30 p.m. EDT.
“I would be remised if I didn't talk about the passing of Dolly Parton, all that she's meant across the world, this country and certainly the queen of East Tennessee,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said during his press conference on Monday. “A lady that was extremely proud of her roots. You look at her impact, you know just her ability to give back, make an impact to people certainly here in East Tennessee. She means a lot to people across this country, but certainly here inside
the state of Tennessee too.
“We’ll be wearing a sticker patch on the back of our helmet to recognize her accomplishments and everything that she's meant, and had an impact here.”
The season opener can be watched on SEC Network+. Richard Cross (play-by-play), Max Starks (anlayst) and Ashlyn Sullivan (sideline) will be on the call.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Josh Heupel remembers Dolly Parton, Vols will wear helmet stickers
