Tennessee Volunteers

Located in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Tennessee Volunteers field the sports teams at the University of Tennessee. The female division of the the Volunteers calls itself the Lady Volunteers. With some variations, most of the different sports teams at the University use orange in white in their jerseys and uniforms. In fact, the teams are well known for their orange jerseys complemented by a white uniform. For the football team, one of the more popular teams at the University, this uniform comes as an orange jersey with white lettering, white pants, and a white helmet. However, as much of a standby as this combination seems, the jerseys and uniforms have gone through a lot of changes throughout the years. The football team, perhaps, most clearly illustrates these changes. Ironically, the team colors of orange and white originated in 1891 and were chosen by one of the first football players at Tennessee University. However, the colors weren’t, as of then, used for the team jerseys. Around 1911, black became the favored color for the Tennessee Volunteers jersey. This didn’t change until 1927 when the Tennessee Volunteers jersey finally came in orange and white, a near constant ever since. The orange jerseys did disappear shortly in 1935 when white jerseys became the norm. This trend didn’t last, though. By 1936, they switched back and added white numbering to the shirts. In 1947, the numbering became larger. 1963 saw another change to the uniforms. Although the jersey color itself didn’t change, the design and accent colors did. The shoulders had black and white stripes with black numbering and the numbering on the jerseys themselves were black as well. This odd fad didn’t last long. By the next year, the team wore a classic design. The next year, they added a black cross to the helmets, out of respect for several teammates who died. In the 70’s, in accordance with new NCAA regulations, the team changed its away game jersey design to white with orange accents. A few years later, orange pants with white stripes were added to the look. The uniform saw little change until the 90’s when the away game uniforms saw some change. Numbers were enlarged. At first, they were bordered in orange. That trend changed a few years later, in 1995, when the team substituted a black border for the orange. A few more changes were made in the 2000’s. Some black accenting was added to the jerseys, and in 2004 the team wore a retrospective uniform with more orange accents.

Available signed Tennessee Volunteers jersey include the John Henderson jersey and the Casey Clausen jersey. Other popular players with signed memorabilia include Erik Ainge and Dustin Colquitt