We had a blast at Tuesday’s UT vs. South Carolina men’s basketball game, despite the 63-59 final score. The atmosphere was electric from the warmups to the last-minute theatrics by Dalton Knecht, who scored 31 points overall with 13 of them coming in the final 2-1/2 minutes.
Food City had many associates present on Tuesday as UT Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman presented a ceremonial game ball to Steven C. Smith, Food City president and CEO. Food City entered into a 10-year, $20 million naming rights contract with the university in 2023. The new name is Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
Posted to social media: “Thank you to Food City, Steve Smith and the 11,000 FC employees in Tennessee!”
Steven Smith was joined on the floor by his wife, Debbie; the new executive vice president of operations for the Knoxville division, Katie Penny, and her husband, Tres.
Ryan Alpert, director of championship resources for the UT Athletic Department, stood in for Danny White, who was out of town.
Betsi James is special events manager for Food City’s Knoxville and Chattanooga divisions.