Tennessee coach Josh Heupel was surprised to hear of accusations coming from the Alabama side following the Vols' 24-17 win over the Crimson Tide.
Josh Heupel has now responded to recent claims made by Alabama's radio broadcaster, Chris Stewart, who suggested that Neyland Stadium used artificial crowd noise during the Volunteers' win over the Crimson Tide.
In the aftermath of Tennessee's victory over Alabama, Stewart implied that crowd noise was being amplified at Neyland Stadium to create an even more intense atmosphere. His comments stirred up controversy, with Heupel firmly denying the accusations and rallying the Volunteer fanbase, reports from On3 shared.
During his weekly press conference, Heupel dismissed the idea that Neyland Stadium required any artificial enhancement to create its legendary game-day atmosphere.
"Neyland doesn’t need anything fake piped into the stadium for that to be the loudest place in America. Hopefully, our fans take that personally," Heupel said.
According to the report from On3 Sports, Heupel also called on the Tennessee fanbase to "take that personally" and take their stadium to even greater heights. He encouraged fans to come back louder than ever after the bye week.
Josh Heupel on fake noise accusation in Neyland Stadium:
— On3 (@On3sports) October 23, 2024
“Neyland doesn’t need anything fake piped into the stadium for that to be the loudest place in America. Hopefully our fans take that personally.”
(via @zachTNT) https://t.co/1FGxePcB7u pic.twitter.com/15QMkeuvWe
The allegation originated from Stewart's play-by-play commentary during the game, where he stated, "You’ve got 100,000-plus and they also pipe in crowd noise as well."
Stewart later attempted to clarify his remarks on a radio show in Birmingham, stating that he misspoke and meant to reference "amplified" crowd noise rather than implying anything dishonest. He explained that Neyland Stadium uses speakers near the field, which, in his view, added to the intensity of the environment, though his initial phrasing caused confusion.
Tennessee will now have time to rest and recover during their bye week before returning to action against Kentucky on November 2. Heupel hopes to see Neyland Stadium roaring again as the team faces tough competition down the stretch.
The Volunteers, now 6-1, are in a strong position to compete for an SEC Championship and possibly make a push for a College Football Playoff berth.
Alabama, on the other hand, now has two losses and will take on Missouri this weekend. The game against the Tigers will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. E.T. on ABC.