How Tennessee football honored Alvin Kamara's story with lobby in Neyland Stadium

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Alvin Kamara sat in a lot of design meetings for the new lobby dedicated to the former Tennessee football star and his family at Neyland Stadium.

When the New Orleans Saints running back saw the final product Sept. 4 the day before the Vols' season opener against Furman, it surpassed his expectations. The Alvin Kamara Family Lobby at Gate 19 was constructed after Kamara made a significant philanthropic gift to his alma mater.

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"Man, it's beautiful," Kamara said. "You got an idea in your head of what something's going to look like, and then when it actually comes together and you see it, it's like 10 times better than what I was imagining. A lot of people put their heads together to bring it to life. So, just blessed that it's here."

It was important to Kamara to give back to Tennessee, because it was a pivotal point in his career, he said. Kamara's journey started with a rocky redshirt freshman year at Alabama before he transferred to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas.

After a successful season at Hutchinson, Kamara got a second shot in the SEC with Tennessee, and he made the most of it.

"(I) maybe had a lot going on before I got here, some doubters, some trouble, things like that," Kamara said. "And this gave me a resurgence, a new lease on life and my career. So, blessed and forever grateful for the University of Tennessee. I just wanted to give back."

Kamara had input on the design of the lobby, which he called a team effort. The design features photos from both his two seasons with the Vols from 2015-16 and from his NFL career with the New Orleans Saints, including a spread dedicated to the game he tied the all-time NFL record of six rushing touchdowns in a single game on Dec. 25, 2020.

Going into the design meetings, Kamara figured only his time at Tennessee would be highlighted. But his UT collaborators involved wanted to feature his whole career and tell the whole story.

"I think my story is kind of a story of resilience," Kamara said. "A lot of road bumps, a lot of speed bumps, a lot of moments where you kind of second-guess or question yourself. It's kind of like you got two voices: You either keep going, or you quit. Thankfully, with the support that I have, family, friends, even when I got here, people in this room that helped me keep moving and keep pushing to get to where I'm at today."

Kamara's mother, brother, sister were all in attendance for the unveiling, and Kamara dedicated it to his family.

The 31-year-old Kamara, who's entering his 10th season in the NFL and all with the Saints, takes a lot of pride in saying he played at Tennessee. The history and tradition of the program and university as a whole sticks with him, he said.

He's one of the program's alums who visits often, and Kamara said he has a great relationship with Tennessee coach Josh Heupel.

"You see him around the guys, you see him around the program ... and you see a guy that's a leader," Kamara said. "The guys like him and not in the way that he's easy on them, but they respect him ... sometimes that respect factor isn't there. I think the guys here respect him, they'll play for him, they'll give their all for him. Not to be cliché, but they'll definitely give their all for him. So I mean, Heup, I think he's great for what we want to do here."

Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: [email protected]; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social‬. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How Tennessee football honored Alvin Kamara's story with lobby in Neyland Stadium

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