Longtime University Of Tennessee Athletics Figure, Radio Host Gus Manning Dies At 99

Gus Manning (Photo: University of Tennessee / Rose Funeral & Cremation)

GUS MANNING, the longtime UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE athletics figure and host of the long-running "THE LOCKER ROOM" football game-day radio show on the VOLUNTEERS' football radio network, died SUNDAY (2/12) in KNOXVILLE at 99.

MANNING served the VOLS in several capacities after graduating from the school in 1950, including Director of Sports Publicity in 1951 under longtime coach and Athletic Director Gen. ROBERT R. NEYLAND, rising to become NEYLAND's aide and ultimately Senior Associate AD. Upon retiring in 2000, MANNING served as Consultant Athletics Director; illness led to his move to a skilled nursing facility in 2017.

"THE LOCKER ROOM" aired on the VOLS network in 1960-2016, with MANNING co-hosting alongside HAYWOOD HARRIS through 2010 and, after HARRIS passed away, BUD FORD.

While MANNING was unrelated to VOLS and NFL quarterback PEYTON MANNING, the latter and his wife ASHLEY donated the funding to rename Gate 16 at NEYLAND STADIUM the "GUS MANNING Gate" in his honor in 2015. He was also inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019

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