Tennessee announced on Tuesday that it has struck a multi-year deal with Knoxville-based Pilot for the first-of-its-kind branding rights inside Neyland Stadium.

The deal, which will run for up to 20 years, will serve as a partnership between the Tennessee athletics department and the petroleum and travel giant in ongoing upgrades and renovation at Neyland Stadium.

For the full details on the deal, click HERE.

After the announcement Tennessee Athletic Director Danny White and Pilot CEO Adam Wright gave their thoughts to the media.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

Thank y'all for being here today. We are extremely excited and absolutely thrilled to embark on it. It wasn't that long ago we celebrated the 100-year anniversary in Neyland Stadium. What does the next 100 years look like, and that's what today is all about. Y'all have heard me talk about big-time aspirations here. This is a big day for our university, for our athletics department, and certainly for our football program, our football stadium and our fan experience here, but we are constantly looking for ways to generate revenue.

Thread the needle between being innovative and finding ways where we can look a little bit like pro sports. Also, understand the history and pageantry of college athletics. Certainly, here more than anywhere else in the country and with this iconic building. We have done a lot of things to try to move the needle and increase our resource base and to move the needle in our corporate sponsorships space in everything that we do. We are going to continue to have our foot on the accelerator as we work to build the best athletic department in the country. I have still not found a reason why we can't do that in Knoxville.

We have every possibility of doing that. I won't bore you with all the metrics that you all know about that's been accomplished here for the last few years. We are as excited as ever with what can be accomplished here. About three and a half years ago, I think it was my first month on the job. We had renderings, and we had blueprints, and all sorts of things for a Neyland Stadium project that just needed to be pressed go. Maybe I was young and dumb enough to do it without knowing how we were going to pay for it all. In all seriousness, we have built a business plan on how we are going to get this project going as quickly as possible, but we knew all along we needed a lead corporate partner for the short and long term viability of this stadium.

It's a 337-million-dollar project. The vast majority of the improvements to this stadium are for our fan experience. We have the best fans in all of sports, not just college. They have proven that time and time again. Neyland Stadium is sold out with a waiting list of 15,000 strong. Our basketball is sold out. Baseball and softball are sold out. I'm not sure there is another school in the country that has that kind of support across the board from our fans. They show up on the road and they show up here in Knoxville like no other. We will not take them for granted.

We are investing in their experience. That's what this is about. Neyland Stadium is iconic. It's historical. It's an unbelievable building, but it can get a little more comfortable. The fan experience can get a little better. We know that we need to improve on that, and we are working to do that every day.

When I first met Adam Wright, just a little over a year ago, and his wife Sabrina they moved here to Knoxville. The new leadership at Pilot, and talking about the next chapter not only for Tennessee and Tennessee Football but Pilot. How we can work together to make this happen for our community and our fans?

I think today is about two historic brands in Knoxville coming together. What I have been thinking about a lot this week is if Tennessee athletics is thriving and Pilot is thriving then the community of Knoxville and East Tennessee is thriving. We can provide value to all of our corporate sponsors. Certainly, at this level, with national exposure and national value. We can work together to make this an even better place to live in as we move forward. When we are playing football games, when we are having concerts, and some of the other stuff we are working on, really 365 days a year. Excited to move forward with this announcement and with the long-term partnership with Tennessee Athletics and with Neyland Stadium and with Pilot. I really appreciate you guys all coming together today. Go Vols!

A big thank you to everyone for making this possible: Donde (Plowman), Danny (White), Ryan (Alpert), Intersport, Vol Network and everyone associated with Tennessee Athletics. All the team members at Pilot who show up to serve 1.2 million people every single day.

My wife Sabrina and I are very honored and proud to now call Knoxville home. From the moment we first arrived, we realized that this is a very special place to live and work, and large part because of the University of Tennessee, its world-class athletic programs and its amazing fans.

As part of a new leadership team at Pilot and this new world of college sports, we found it important to really step in and do two things: ensure the iconic names and history of Neyland Stadium and Shields-Watkins Field were preserved in this new era and also to demonstrate the commitment that Pilot is here to stay for the long term and that we are going to be a meaningful partner and support organizations and institutions that make Knoxville and East Tennessee unique.

At Pilot, we’re focused on showing people they matter at every turn, and we’re doing that by creating exceptional experiences for our customers, upgrading our facilities and innovating for the future. That lines up so well with how Danny and the UT leadership are thinking about their strategic plans. It was obvious to us right away that we had a very similar story to tell. It would be wise to start telling that story together. Preserving the history, legacy and traditions of Tennessee Athletics and sports while helping UT prepare for and innovate for the future just made good common sense.

Speaking of people, I know that Neyland Stadium and sports generally bring people together from really all walks of life, all corners of the country and literally all parts of society. We’re proud to be able to be a part of that type of catalyst for humanity. I think there’s no place better, who does it bigger, with more passion and determination and with more unity than Vol Nation.

For everyone who is a fan who’s coming from across the country to come to Neyland, we are excited to fuel your journey. If you’re going anywhere in life, we’re here for you, we get you and we are just proud to be a part of preserving the iconic namesakes, the great traditions and the rich history of Tennessee. It takes a team, and my team has advised me very clearly not to try to lead us in singing Rocky Top. But they did say I could say Go Vols and see you all out there.

–––––

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.

–––––