This article was written by Matt Foley and published on Sport & State, a new media company founded by Clay Travis that is built around sports, culture, original voices, and live conversation.
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On the biggest college football Saturday of the season so far, U.S. President Donald Trump is headed to Rocky Top for No. 14 Tennessee’s clash with the No. 1 Texas Longhorns.
Breaking news: sources tell me President Trump will be attending the Texas-Tennessee game this weekend in Knoxville’s Neyland Stadium.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) September 23, 2026
Sport & State founder Clay Travis broke the news, sourcing White House officials. Travis previously interviewed President Trump at halftime of the Georgia vs. Alabama college football game on Sept. 28, 2024.
The president is stepping into an already massive scene on Saturday: the sold-out game is Tennessee’s SEC opener, the program’s annual “Checker Neyland” game, and the first-ever regular-season matchup between the Longhorns and Volunteers.
Trump’s no stranger to attending marquee sporting events. In fact, they’ve become a regular part of his public schedule. So far this year, he attended the College Football Playoff National Championship between Indiana and Miami, Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, and the FIFA World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium. Now he’s adding one of college football’s most storied venues to the list.
ESPN’s College GameDay will also be on campus before the noon ET kickoff on ABC, which will be handled by ESPN’s top broadcast crew.
Time to find out who the real UT is 😏
We’ll see you in Knoxville on Saturday for a showdown between Texas and Tennessee! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/WiD1PRelNR
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 20, 2026
The presidential visit adds another layer of spectacle to this headline matchup. Top-ranked Texas (3-0) enters its first true road game with Arch Manning and massive expectations. Undefeated Tennessee counters with true freshman Faizon Brandon, one of the most highly touted quarterback recruits in recent memory, and the nation’s fourth-ranked rushing offense.
Vols coach Josh Heupel called Texas a “battle-tested, very veteran group” and praised Manning’s command of the Longhorns offense. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, meanwhile, knows exactly what awaits his team in Knoxville: “[Neyland Stadium] is the loudest stadium in the country,” he told reporters this week.
Now a sitting president will join the Manning family, two star quarterbacks, College GameDay, and 101,915 fans for Tennessee’s 30th consecutive sellout.
Saturday in Knoxville looks like fireworks. And Sport & State will be there with live coverage on Friday night and Saturday.
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