Did Tennessee pipe in crowd noise against Alabama? The ‘controversy,’ explained

This is a non-controversy.

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Have you heard some talk about Tennessee piping in crowd noise against Alabama? If so, we’re here to help.

That’s right, we’ve got ourselves a crowd noise “controversy!” Now, we’re using scare quotes for a good reason, because it’s … not really a controversy. We’ll get into all of that as all kinds of claims have come in and have been refuted.

Let’s dive in and tackle this: does Tennessee really pipe in crowd noise at Neyland Stadium to mess with opponents?

OK, wait. What’s this now about Tennessee piping in crowd noise?

On Saturday, as Tennessee beat Alabama, Crimson Tide Sports Network play-by-play man Chris Stewart casually dropped that the Vols “pipe in crowd noise.”

Is that true?

Not according to Tennessee Director of Athletics Danny White!

And the school refuted that claim, per the Knoxville News Sentinel, which also added this:

Tight ends coach Alec Abeln did the same Monday at the Knoxville Quarterback Club.

“I have been places where they do pump in the crowd noise,” Abeln said. “It is 100% legit in that building.”

Is there anyone else who really thinks Tennessee is piping in crowd noise?

Yes. Former Alabama QB A.J. McCarron claimed it on X (formerly Twitter), although check out the community note:

So that’s it?

Yup. But the jokes that are coming out of it are good:

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