It’s impossible to attend Tennessee softball games and not hear the chants.

“LADY! VOLS!” often echoes from one section to the other at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. The chant, along with many tailored specifically to players, are constant through all seven innings.

A fan group called the Lady Vol Locos is always there to get crowds engaged at women’s sporting events at Tennessee. Softball is where they shine because of the smaller stadium and the cheering that’s ingrained in the sport.

They’re also impossible to miss, always dressed in different costumes, and they do their best not to repeat. They’ve dressed up as the Flintstones, the Wizard of Oz, Pirates of the Caribbean and even Dolly Parton. Rain or shine, even when it’s 95 degrees in May, The Locos always arrive in a new getup. They travel to as many away games as possible, too, even as far as Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

“We have no shame,” Terry Blevins joked. “We’ve done everything we can possibly do to humiliate ourselves. So, yeah, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

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How the Lady Vol Locos started

Blevins has at least 15 boxes of wigs and costumes, one for each year he spent driving the 224-mile roundtrip from Chattanooga for Tennessee games.

Blevins, 60, owned his own accounting business, which allowed him to have the flexible schedule necessary as a season ticket holder for football, men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball and softball. That’s not even including the free admission sports like soccer, tennis and rowing.

Two years ago, Blevins retired and finally moved to Knoxville.

“I’ve always been a Tennessee fan since I was a boy,” said Blevins, who was born in Jamestown before growing up in Chattanooga. “So this has really kind of come full circle for me to be here.”

Blevins and Michael Beeler are the leaders when it comes to riling up the crowds at games. Blevins actually enjoys that part more than dressing up.

Blevins and Beeler met as Tennessee football season ticker holders who sat next to each other at Neyland Stadium. Blevins went to his first Tennessee softball game in 2007 when UT hosted the NCAA super regionals at Tyson Park during legendary pitcher Monica Abbott’s senior season. UT beat Hawaii 2-1 to advance to the Women’s College World Series.

When Sherri Parker Lee Stadium opened in 2008, they met the rest of their group, which includes Kelly Litton, Sharon Taylor, Patty Cawrse, Debbie Barker and Sherry Moore. Beeler used to wear eccentric outfits on his own, and in 2010 it became a group activity.

Everyone appreciates the long-standing support for women’s sports at Tennessee, which has historically been considered a trailblazer in that aspect.

“I think it really shows through that we’ve had a legacy of success in women’s sports,” Blevins said. “I like being a Tennessee fan and knowing that we not only are excellent in our men’s sports, but that our women’s sports are as well. It brings us a lot of joy.”

Terry Blevins’ most memorable moment as a fan

Blevins will never forget his first trip to Oklahoma City for the WCWS in 2013.

Tennessee had a team full of stars like Madison Shipman, Lauren Gibson, Melissa Davin and the pitching duo of Ellen and Ivy Renfroe. Blevins still thinks UT got cheated out of a win in the WCWS championship series opener against Oklahoma that went 12 innings. He and Litton still pass around a video of all the missed calls they believe Tennessee should have won the game on.

“I remember that was just so big and all the UT brass was there. It was a night game, it was Oklahoma and they had the tornadoes, and it was just a lot of drama,” Blevins said. “We still say that if we had won that first game that we probably would have won the series … We were kind of crushed after we lost the first game.”

It has been special for Blevins to witness the growth of the WCWS over the years, though, and seeing Devon Park expand from 5,000 seats in 2013 to a capacity of 13,000.

Being a Tennessee super fan has become Blevins’ life. Everyone in the group spends a lot of time, effort and money being The Locos.

Blevins doesn’t have kids, but supporting the teams and building relationships with the players and their families has filled that part of his life. He still keeps in touch with the parents of players who graduated years ago.

“I really like the camaraderie with the fans,” Blevins said. “I really have a little soft spot in my heart for (women’s sports) because it’s a little bit of a different game. The players, the families, everybody’s more approachable, it just feels more of a family vibe.”

Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social‬. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe