For those of you following The 1796, you know we have grown substantially over the last six months. Since being founded in 2023, we have reached several milestones that we were not expecting to reach this soon. We have had multiple months of 1,000,000+ interactions on Instagram, we average 300,000 monthly interactions on X, and we have been included as an official Tennessee news source on SportSpyder and NewsBreak.

Of course, none of this is possible without our loyal readers. We are grateful for everybody who has clicked on an article, bought merchandise, or simply shared a post. With that being said, we are fortunate enough to be able to add staff to our team. We would like to formally announce the additions of two new writers: Mitchell Thomas and Loose Bets. Both of these talented writers will be key parts of our staff and will contribute weekly. With that being said, please see the introduction below from Mitchell Thomas. Go Vols!

Few things on this planet get me as jazzed up as the University of Tennessee’s athletic department. I am beyond thrilled to share my love for the Vols with up-to-date news about the Tennessee Volunteers football team, as well as some other tidbits from other sports here and there. 

My name is Mitchell Thomas, I am a UT graduate from 2018 and have had many experiences that have infused my love for writing and sharing information. As a former media member from television, radio and newspaper, I have missed many aspects of sharing news. 

Now, I am a middle school English teacher and I coach football, basketball and baseball during the school year. As a former player as well, I have a unique perspective of each sport and am excited to take a deep dive into some of the in-game aspects that make football so great. 

It’s truly a blessing to be a small part of the greatest fan base in the country, and serving a community that is just as infatuated with the Big Orange as I am. At the end of the day, I’m just like the rest of you — a lifetime Vol who’s happiness rides the coattails of Tennessee sporting results. I’ll be bringing you news from the “Decade of the Vols” one article at a time. 

Go Vols!