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Young fans get more than 250 donated Vols tickets after #EmptyNeyland effort

Some fans were encouraging people to boycott the Vols next game unless Butch Jones was fired. But a local principal came up with a better solution for those unused tickets.

UPDATE Friday, Nov. 3, 2017 at 2 p.m.

More than 250 tickets to the Vols homecoming game were donated to South Knoxville Elementary students who have never to a game.

The school says every student and their families will have the opportunity to attend Saturday's game. There are leftover tickets that will go to students at South Doyle Middle School.

The kids want to say thank you to the hundreds of people who donated their tickets.

"I want to say thank you and I will never forget this day," said 2nd grader Zachary Householder. "I'm really excited. Really, really, really, excited."

So many people donated tickets that the school will be giving some tickets to South Doyle Middle School so that students there can experience the game also.

ORIGINAL STORY Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017

An effort by some fans to #EmptyNeyland to show their desire for a coaching change made some Big Orange dreams come true for the young fans.

All week on social media, some Tennessee fans have been encouraging people to boycott Saturday's homecoming game to show the university that they want Butch Jones fired. In response, the principal at South Knoxville Elementary School asked people to donate their tickets instead.

"Hey Vol fans that are giving away their tickets. Please send them to South Knox Elem. Most of our kids have never been to game," Tanna Nicely wrote on Twitter.

Most of the students, who can see the stadium from their school, get free or reduced lunch, and their parents just can't afford to buy tickets to the game.

Nicely's plea took off on social media, being retweeted hundreds of times, and with other fans and former players joining the effort to send those kids to their first game.

Now, Nicely says they've gotten 112 tickets donated, with more on the way!

One man was so moved by one little boy who told us, "The Vols just need more practice" that he started crying. He not only sent the school his tickets, but also a UT hoodie and money for concessions for that child to use.

If anyone has tickets they would like to donate to the students, Nicely said they can be dropped off at South Knoxville Elementary School, 801 Sevier Ave.

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