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A huge Texas-Tennessee matchup had a little extra pageantry.
With President Donald Trump visiting Knoxville for the matchup of the top-ranked Longhorns and No. 14 Volunteers, Air Force One completed a flyover above Neyland Stadium shortly before 11:30 a.m. ET.
Trump then landed at 11:28 a.m., a little over a half hour before the noon kickoff, and arrived at the stadium at 11:59 a.m., according to a pool report.
The commander in chief was then shown on the ESPN broadcast in his suite about halfway through the first quarter.
Trump has been a fixture at major sporting events during his two terms as president, including Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden between the Knicks and Spurs and the World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium this summer.
The President also took in the College Football Playoff championship game when Indiana completed its undefeated season over Miami in January.
The game, even before Trump’s planned attendance, already had plenty of juice as likely top-five draft pick Arch Manning looked to keep Texas’ strong start going.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters Thursday that both teams would have to be prepared for communication contingency plans.
“The one thing that you have to be aware of when the president goes to any game is that any time he enters the stadium or leaves the stadium, or changes locations within the stadium, they cut all communication,” Sarkisian said.
“They cut headsets to coaches. They cut headsets to coach-to-player communication. So you have to have a plan for that if and/or when, and you get no warning. So that just gets cut out.”
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