Nearly 102,000 fans are expected at Saturday’s No. 1 Texas–No. 14 Tennessee game. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian says President Donald Trump’s movements in the stadium could briefly cut coach and coach-to-player headset communications for both teams without warning.
Sarkisian said communications are cut when Trump enters or leaves the stadium or changes locations inside it, and teams receive no warning. He said the 2019 Alabama-LSU game in Tuscaloosa, which Trump attended, taught him to prepare for short interruptions.
Tennessee is asking fans to arrive significantly earlier than normal; gates open at 9 a.m. Eastern. The school cited possible temporary road closures, traffic controls and pedestrian-route changes, along with added security checkpoints and verification procedures. Sarkisian said Texas’ arrival logistics would otherwise be unaffected and that he had not heard whether Trump might visit a locker room after the game.
