University of Tennessee Fundraising for New Football Goalposts

The field needs new posts after overzealous fans dumped the old ones in the river.

Credit: Unsplash

The field needs new posts after overzealous fans dumped the old ones in the river.

Over the weekend, the Tennessee Volunteers, football team representing the University of Tennessee, took on the Alabama Red Tide. It was a fierce game, ultimately ending in the Vols’ favor with a close 52-49 victory. Following the team’s victory, fans swarmed the field, whooping it up and celebrating. In their victory fervor, the fans collectively yanked down one of the end zone goal posts from the Vols’ field, carting it away and tossing it into the Tennessee River.

Unfortunately, two goal posts are necessary to play football, and the team has been left footing the bill for the destroyed post. Since it was kind of the fans’ fault this happened, the team has decided to hold a fundraiser event to pay for the purchase of a new goal post.

“We thought this was a fun way to invite Vol Nation to continue in the celebration,” UoT athletic director Danny White told ESPN. “We had heard before and during the game that the fans would support a celebration, no matter the cost, so we leaned into that enthusiasm.”

At the time of writing, the fundraising campaign has brought in $80,458, roughly 53% of the money necessary to purchase the new goal post.