Meet Tate, a 10-year-old from Knoxville, TN! Tate is your typical boy – he loves basketball and football, playing Madden NFL, and collecting sports cards. As you can imagine, living in Knoxville, Tate is the biggest University of Tennessee fan! He loves cheering on the Vols in every sport and he even loves their mascot, Smokey.
Tate’s mom says that he fights to be just like every other 10-year-old boy despite having Syringomyelia, Intracranial Hypertension, and Tethered Cord Syndrome. Since May 2020, he’s had four brain surgeries, a spinal cord surgery, and is scheduled to have another surgery in December 2022. While his illnesses have significantly impacted his daily life, he doesn’t let that stop him. Tate battles through pain and fatigue to continue to do the activities he loves, like playing flag football. To say that he is resilient would be an understatement.
Tate is interested in everything related to sports – the athletes, the stats, watching the game. He would love to meet some of the UT athletes and experience a VIP Vols fan weekend.
The University of Tennessee Collegiate Dream Team is working hard to make Tate’s Dream come true!
