Browse the University of Tennessee’s webstore and you’ll find an endless supply of clothing and novelties – mostly in orange of course.
Some new arrivals to the store could not be more personal to Charlie Browder ‘21.
Tennessee’s “Mountain Strong” merchandise line which benefits relief efforts for Hurricane Helene, as well as the helmet stickers being worn by the Volunteers’ nationally-ranked football team, began as Charlie’s idea.
Charlie is a redshirt junior tight end for Tennessee and majoring in Marketing. And while he was relieved that his east Tennessee hometown of Kingsport was largely spared from Helene’s wrath, Charlie knew his second home in Arden was not so lucky.
After clearing the idea for the stickers with head coach Josh Heupel, Charlie worked with a creative team to finalize the design. Along with stickers, there are Mountain Strong t-shirts and hats being sold at this link.
Charlie attended Christ School as a junior and senior, helping the football team win a NCISAA Division II state championship in 2020. His family’s legacy with the program lives on in younger brother, Sam ’25, a senior lineman for the Greenies who has committed to Memphis.