High-end facilities and state-of-the-art accommodations can seem like a birthright to this generation of athletes at major NCAA Division I college programs. That wasn’t always the case, however, especially for female athletes.
University of Tennessee softball coach Karen Weekly took advantage of a construction project to share some history with her players last month as they prepared for the 2026 season. UT’s clubhouse is being completely renovated, requiring the team to use a portable locker room and offices for nearly a year.
Weekly decided to take the Lady Vols on a field trip to nearby Tyson Park, where the program played home games from 1996-2007 before Sherri Lee Park Stadium was built on campus. The location where UT legends like Monica Abbott once played is now a skate park.
UT and the city of Knoxville had an agreement that allowed UT the exclusive use of the two fields at Tyson Park throughout the academic year, while the facility was shared during the summer.
“It’s something I should have done a long time ago, and probably should do every year with teams, because it provides a link to the past,” Weekly says. “(At) our alumni events, they get to meet a lot of those players. But just to really see where they played and where they built this tradition (is important).”
Driving by history
Tennessee senior All-American pitcher Karlyn Pickens was grateful for the chance to learn more about the program’s history at Tyson Park and hopes to use the visit as motivation for her final season at UT.
“I think it just kind of brought me back to just the roots of softball. People were out there playing softball because they loved the game. It wasn’t for the fancy jerseys or anything that was monetary,” Pickens says. “It was because they had a true love for the game. They wanted to win, just dire competitiveness. And I think that’s what we want to embody this year, is just having that joy, having that love. And I hope that we can show that when we play.”
Many of the current players were unaware of the program’s connection to Tyson Park despite driving past it many times over the years.
“I knew it was over there, but I’ve never been there, so going back and seeing that really opened my eyes to how grateful I am for what we have and what the alumni have done for us,” says junior outfielder Gabby Leach. “How they helped and they paved the way for us to have what we have now was super cool to see.”
Weekly and her husband, Ralph Weekly, coached the Lady Vols at Tyson Park from 2002-07, including three straight 60-plus win seasons in 2005, 2006 and 2007 that led to the construction of Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. The 2005 team won a program-record 67 games, made its first Women’s College World Series appearance in program history, and began its current 20-year streak of hosting an NCAA Regional.
“I wanted them to understand it’s not about the place. It’s not about the comforts and the frills. It’s about the people in the building,” Weekly says. “It doesn’t matter where you dress. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. It doesn’t matter where you play. It’s about how you play between those white lines.”
Maintaining the streak
Attempting to extend their NCAA hosting streak to 21 straight seasons, the Lady Vols kicked off the 2026 season last week, going 5-0 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Florida.
Pickens is back in the circle leading a deep staff that should be a major strength. The group held last weekend’s opponents to just two runs on 12 hits while striking out 42 and walking nine. Younger position players and transfers will be asked to produce in bigger roles throughout the lineup as UT tries to return to the Women’s College World Series for the second straight season and third time in the last four years.
The visit to Tyson Park may become a tradition for the program even after the clubhouse renovations end. In the era of NIL and schools paying players, Weekly realizes the importance of providing some perspective.
“I wanted them to see this is where Lady Vol softball was built, and we talked about some of those players who are on the wall,” says Weekly, referring to UT’s award winners. “I said, ‘They didn’t need a fancy locker room to become an All-American. They didn’t need a fancy locker room to go to the World Series and compete for a national championship, and we don’t either.’”