NewzEncouraging fans to get inside Neyland Stadium earlier than usual with President Donald Trump coming to Tennessee's college football game against Texas sure worked Saturday (AP) — Encouraging fans to get inside Neyland Stadium earlier than usual with President Donald Trump coming to Tennessee's college football game against Texas sure worked Saturday.Security checks on the stadium's perimeter went relatively smoothly with Tennessee officials opening the stadium 30 minutes earlier than normal. Fans got half-price off concessions as a reward for showing up early, and Tennessee faithful had the stands half full 90 minutes before kickoff and nearly packed an hour before.Those in their seats were treated to a low-altitude flyover by Air Force One as the president came into town with the Volunteers and Longhorns warming up on the field below.
ET ahead of the noon kickoff, according to the pool report.Trump's motorcade arrived at Neyland Stadium just as the national anthem was being sung at 11:59 a.m.The bigger disruptions from Trump's visit could go all the way to the game on the field, with headaches for coaches and players, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said this week.The Southeastern Conference matchup between the No. 14 Volunteers in Knoxville already was one of the biggest games in the country this weekend. Trump came to watch Texas quarterback Arch Manning play for the first time in the stadium where his uncle Peyton became famous.And what Trump does, and where he goes and when, could prove important.Teams must be ready to lose all communication on their headsets between coaches on the field and the players “anytime (Trump) enters the stadium, leaves the stadium or changes locations within the stadium,” Sarkisian said.“They cut the headsets to coaches.
They cut headsets for coach-to-player communication. So you have to have a plan for that, if and when it happens, and you get no warning. It just gets cut out," Sarkisian said.And “anytime” really means anytime.“You have to have a plan to adjust if and when he comes in the middle of the first quarter, leaves in the fourth quarter, or decides he’s got to use the restroom," Sarkisian said.How a presidential visit can affect radio communicationsTrump has attended more college football games than any recent sitting president, and he arrived in Knoxville in the midst of a midterm election season and a heated debate over the role of money in college sports that Congress is trying to resolve.
ET ahead of the noon kickoff, according to the pool report.The bigger disruptions from Trump's visit could go all the way to the game on the field, with headaches for coaches and players, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said this week.The Southeastern Conference matchup between the No. He has attended national championship games and regular season contests in the SEC and Army vs.
Summary from source