This past week has seen this year at its worst and at its best. I am speaking, of course, about the death of Dolly Parton and the return of college football.
As excited as we all are for these next Saturdays, the beginning of the football season has also created a whole new opportunity to pay tribute to Parton. Especially in her native Tennessee.
In a press conference today, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel announced that the Volunteers will take the field this season wearing their own memorial to Parton, a helmet sticker. Calling Parton the “queen of East Tennessee” who was “extremely proud of her roots,” Heupel touched on the star’s deep impact on the region and state, something that extended to the University itself throughout her career.
Adding to Heupel’s announcement, Tennessee Football also shared a first glance of the sticker, a butterfly complete with Parton’s signature, to the team’s Instagram. Meanwhile, fans are already coming up with more ideas surrounding the move, including merchandise sales and donations to Parton’s Imagination Library.
But Tennessee is not alone in their effort to bring Parton’s legacy into gameday. This past Friday, Middle Tennessee State University Athletics Director Chris Massaro and Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment Dean Beverly Keel announced that the school’s Blue Raiders would open their season wearing jersey patches in Parton’s honor. In addition, the team will also display QR codes with donation links to the Imagination Library.
As Massaro pointed out, this Saturday could not be a more fitting opportunity to remember Parton, as it will fall on 9/5.
Catch Tennessee’s home opener against Furman this Saturday at 3:30pm ET and MTSU’s matchup with Murray State at 7pm ET.
See Tennessee’s Sticker and MTSU’s Patch Here: