AD Danny White was criticized by the fans for his inability to.....

Tennessee AD Danny White needs to avoid one potential mistake or else the Vols fan base will turn on him

Tennessee Vols athletic director Danny White is one of the most popular UT athletic directors in recent memory.

But that doesn’t mean he’s perfect.

White is already earning a reputation as the athletic director that’s helped to bring positive change to Tennessee — the Vols are playing at a championship level across numerous sports.

He’s also known as the athletic director who sold the naming rights to Thompson-Boling Arena, which is now known as Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center (a change that went into effect last August).

Many fans have pledged to continue to go with Thompson-Boling Arena when discussing the home of the Vols, but there’s been a significant push to refer to the arena as the Food City Center moving forward.

Tennessee AD Danny White needs to avoid one potential mistake or else the Vols fan base will turn on him - A to Z Sports

The naming rights deal for Thompson-Boling Arena hasn’t been popular, but it’s not like it’s created a uprising against White, either. I think most fans understand that the change was made to generate revenue to aid in renovations at Thompson-Boling Arena — though that doesn’t make most of those fans feel any better about the change.

White needs to learn from the mini-outrage over the switch to Food City Arena and stop while he’s ahead.

Because if there’s one sure way for White to draw the ire of Vols fans, it would be to sell the naming rights to Neyland Stadium.

If Neyland Stadium becomes “Weigel’s Stadium” (or any other sponsored name) under White’s watch, there might be another fan revolt in Knoxville.

There’s no amount of money that would make fans willing to accept a Neyland Stadium name change. So before White gets any ideas, he needs to look at how fans responded to the Thompson-Boling Arena name change and understand that the response to a Neyland Stadium name change would be 100 times worse.

Some things just aren’t worth the money. And changing the name of one of the most historic venues in college football certainly falls on that list.