New Tennessee coach Josh Heupel made one of his first public appearances since being hired in recent days as the Vols new coach. At a basketball game on Saturday, he was introduced during the first media timeout and delivered a message for Tennessee fans.”

“Vol Nation, this fan base right here is what makes this program and this university so special and so unique,” Heupel said to the crowd during the Kansas-Tennessee basketball game. “It makes Neyland Stadium one of the most intimidating home field advantages in the entire country. My family and I are so proud and honored to be a part of the Tennessee family.”

He then transitioned to the team.

“We’ve got a great group of individuals inside our locker room,” Heupel said. “They’re going to come together as a team. We need to come together as a university, as a state and we’ve got to create positive energy of reaching every corner of this state. I cannot wait to be inside that locker room with our team, run through that T, listen to Rocky Top and go beat the heck out of the team we’re playing on the other side of the field. Our players are already hard at work. We’re going to assemble one of the best staffs in the entire country. We are going to make you, our fan base, this entire state, extremely proud to represent the orange T on their shirt. Go Big Orange!”