By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-26 19:46:52 | Updated at 2026-09-26 20:40:30
1 hour ago
The wing of Air Force One, with President Donald Trump on board, is pictured as the plane flies over Knoxville, Tenn., en route to an NCAA college football game between Tennessee and Texas, Sept. 26, 2026. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
President Donald Trump was aboard Air Force One as it made a low flyover above the 101,000-seat Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, before the Texas Longhorns and Tennessee Volunteers game on Sept. 26.
The flyover came about 40 minutes before the noon kickoff of the packed SEC matchup between the top-ranked Longhorns and 14th-ranked Volunteers.
Players for the Volunteers and Longhorns were warming up on the field during the rare moment.
Saturday’s game in Tennessee marked the SEC opener for both teams.
Air Force One landed before 11:30 a.m. ET before kickoff at noon, and the president’s motorcade arrived at the stadium just as the national anthem was being sung.
Trump received thunderous applause when the jumbotron showed him sitting in a suite next to lawmakers, including Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who is running for governor in the general election this fall.
Earlier in the week, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian suggested that if Trump moved in the stadium during the game, teams could lose headset communication between coaches and players.
But an announcer said on Saturday that both teams worked with the Secret Service to clear their radio frequencies, hoping to reduce the risk of disruption during the highly anticipated match.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
