Tennessee Vols morning report: Neyland Stadium renovations revealed
All college sports for the 2021-2022 academic year came to an end Sunday with the Ole Miss Rebels capturing the college baseball national championship. That was tough to swallow for the Tennessee Vols, who swept Ole Miss on the road during the regular season and was clearly the better team throughout the year.
Instead, UT had to watch from home since they missed out on the Super Regional. That didn’t stop them from making news over the weekend. Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with updates to the football program’s stadium. The details of those were revealed over the weekend.
Meanwhile, baseball still made news despite not taking part in the College World Series. In fact, there were multiple bits of news on the diamond, as baseball postseason awards were a story and a player returning to the softball program also made news. Both were positive for UT, and we’ll dive into them, but let’s start with the stadium.
Neyland Stadium renovation details approved, revealed – UTSports
Proposed renovations to the Tennessee Vols football stadium were approved by the school’s board of trustees on Friday. Neyland Stadium will have the V-O-L-S letters restored and adds stadium WiFi but slightly reduces its capacity. This goes with renovations they are already doing, which includes a jumbotron on the north end zone.
"The revised project scope requires a total budget increase of $108 million, resulting in an overall Phase I budget of $288 million, which will be fully funded.The estimated total project budget at the time of the 2017 approval was $340 million."
Four baseball Vols earn more All-American honors – D1Baseball.com
Sophomore pitcher Chase Dollander of the Tennessee Vols baseball team was named a D1Baseball First Team All-American for 2022. Freshman pitcher Chase Burns, junior outfielder Drew Gilbert and senior third baseman Trey Lipscomb all earned Third Team, with Lipscomb making it as the designated hitter. UT’s four players was the most of any program.
"Texas slugger Ivan Melendez is the 2022 D1Baseball Player of the Year, headlining the D1Baseball All-America teams.Melendez lead the nation with 32 home runs, the most by any player since the BBCOR bat standards were imposed in 2011."
Ashley Rogers returning for a fifth year – Kellyanne Stitts, WATE
All-American pitcher Ashley Rogers of the Tennessee Lady Vols softball program will take advantage of the COVID eligibility ruling by the NCAA for players who took part in 2020 and return for a fifth year in 2023. She held batters in 2022 to a .156 averaged and had a WHIP of 0.82.
"Rogers made 25 appearances with 15 starts in the circle after battling through injury this past season. She led the Lady Vols’ pitching staff with a 2.01 ERA, four shutouts, and three saves in 104.1 innings pitched."