If you go
Tennessee Titans Caravan * When: 5 p.m. Saturday, May 9 * Where: Academy Sports + Outdoors, 5929 Highway 153 * Admission: Free * Phone: 423-870-7930 Big Orange Caravan * When: 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, May 13 * Where: The Chattanoogan, 1201 Broad St. * Admission: $25 adults, $17 ages 12 and younger * Website: www.volsconnect.com
Whether your Tennessee sports allegiances line up with the costumed raccoon T-Rac or a bluetick coonhound named Smokey, you can get a preview of both franchises’ upcoming seasons when their caravans make stops in Chattanooga in the next few days.
The Tennessee Titans Caravan will be at Academy Sports + Outdoors in Hixson for photographs and autographs starting at 5 p.m. Saturday, May 9. The Big Orange Caravan will stop for a dinner with fans Wednesday night, May 13, at The Chattanoogan.
Tennessee Titans Caravan
Chattanooga is one of 20 stops for the Tennessee Titans Caravan tour through Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama.
The free event gives fans a chance to meet various players, mascot T-Rac and the “Voice of the Titans” Mike Keith. Players set for this stop are defensive lineman Karl Klug and guard Chance Warmack.
Posters are provided at no cost for getting autographs, and photos are welcome. Stops generally last an hour.
According to a Titans spokesman, the annual caravan has made more than 800 stops and drawn an audience of more than 200,000 fans since its launch in 1998. In addition to the marquee names, nine full-time staffers travel on the specially decorated motorcoach.
Big Orange Caravan
Most of the year, being a University of Tennessee sports fan means a trip to Knoxville. But on five days in May, the Vol Nation can let the Big Orange Caravan come to them.
Scheduled for the Chattanooga stop on Wednesday are head football coach Butch Jones and new men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes. They’ll be joined by Lady Vols assistant basketball coach Jolette Law, UT-Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek and other guests from the UT Athletic Department. Vols broadcaster Bob Kesling will serve as master of ceremonies.
The coaches will meet fans and give autographs, says Susan Orr, director of alumni programs. If you forget to bring paper, no worries. “We will have autograph sheets available at the event,” she says.
Local fan and alumna Amy Donahue, marketing/communications manager at River City Co., says the caravan is important to Vols fans.
“With Vol fans spread out across the state and many who are not able to make it to Knoxville for games to show their support, the Big Orange Caravan is a great way for fans to get to really interact with the coaches and to build camaraderie with other fans and supporters,” she says.
Other stops are scheduled in Memphis, Atlanta, Bristol and Nashville. About 300 fans are expected to attend in Chattanooga, Donahue says. The first hour, 6-7 p.m., includes dinner and a chance to get autographs. The program, offering insight into the 2015-16 season, begins at 7 p.m.
Contact Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6396.