UT reports 130.3 dBA Neyland peak; record claim is unsettled

The University of Tennessee says its Health Sciences Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology recorded a crowd-noise peak of 130.3 dBA lasting seven seconds during Tennessee’s October 17 win over Alabama at Neyland Stadium. The university described the reading as the highest scientifically verified crowd event in college-football history.

UT said the department counted 105 distinct crowd-noise events above 120 dB during the game. It identified the instrument as a Larson Davis sound-level meter placed in the stadium’s south end zone. The peak came in the third quarter, after Tennessee’s Tyree Weathersby sacked Alabama’s quarterback.

The October 17 game drew 101,915 fans at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville; Tennessee won 26-10.

How the readings compare i

UT compared its 130.3 dBA peak, which lasted seven seconds, with a 127 dBA reading lasting two seconds at Penn State on October 27, 2007. The difference between those reported figures is 3.3 dBA, and the Neyland peak lasted five seconds longer. That calculation describes UT’s comparison; by itself, it does not establish a college-football record.

Sports Illustrated earlier reported a 137 dB reading at Neyland during Tennessee’s 2023 game against Georgia. Comparable measurement methods and verification criteria for that reading and UT’s 2026 reading are not established. UT identified its meter and where it was placed, but its release did not describe calibration, a full measurement protocol or the criteria for calling a reading scientifically verified.

WVLT reported UT’s announcement using university data and did not describe a separate measurement. The two reported figures therefore do not provide a like-for-like comparison that resolves the record claim: UT characterized its 2026 reading as a record, while the earlier report gives a higher number without establishing whether it was measured or verified on the same basis.