A brutally hot afternoon at Neyland Stadium resulted in hundreds of heat-related emergency calls and 15 people being taken to hospitals.
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American Medical Response officials said approximately 200 heat-related calls were made Saturday as Tennessee hosted Furman in Knoxville.
The temperature at kickoff reached 90 degrees, tying the second-highest kickoff temperature ever recorded at Neyland Stadium.
AMR transported 15 people by ambulance to local hospitals, although officials said that number could have been considerably higher without medical personnel treating fans inside the stadium.
"That number would have been larger if UT Medical Center Event Medicine staff weren't inside the stadium treating and caring for the fans inside," AMR spokesperson Mike Cohen told WVLT. "They were mitigating a significant number of patients inside the aid stations at Neyland."
The Knoxville Fire Department also stationed a cooling bus outside the stadium. Officials said approximately 30 people were inside the bus at one point as fans sought relief from the heat.
Emergency personnel used ATVs and specialized response teams to move through the large crowds and assist people suffering from heat-related symptoms.
AMR said the number of ambulance transports was somewhat higher than what crews would typically see during a Tennessee home game.
On the field, there wasn't nearly as much drama. The Volunteers rolled to a 56-9 victory over Furman in their season opener.
For many of the more than 100,000 fans packed into Neyland Stadium, though, simply dealing with the September heat became the bigger challenge.
