KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The rock at the University of Tennessee which came to campus in the 1960s has been painted on since the '80s.
"The rock has been around, it has been across the street until they moved it," Chloe Peterson, who now paints the rock every gameday, said. "It has been painted for many different occasions and events, it was [a] really big deal when someone painted it on 9/11,"
In the last 10 years, it became a tradition for a student to paint the rock for gamedays. Sophomore Chloe Peterson is the latest student to take up the role. And Saturday's mural of Smokey took her 8 hours to finish.
"I love being able to put something that screams UT to me," she said.
Peterson pays for paint and supplies completely out of pocket, but some UT fans show their support for the tradition through tips.
"Wow, she has got so much talent and she's doing such a great job," one UT fan, who donated to Peterson, said. "And all of the kids are super excited to see her painting Smokey."
Peterson does not work alone, her best friend Ashley lends a helping hand each week.
"We're two busy college students so this is one of the only times we can all relax," Ashley Chung said.
While Peterson is only a sophomore, she said that her love for UT has her wanting to do this for the rest of her time on Rocky Top.
"It's just something that brings people together," she said. "Families take pictures in front of it. It's something people can look back on years from now and say I went to the UT game and saw that rock painted something special."