Centennial Mall

During the Blizzard of 1978, the land in mid-campus, which used to be a faculty parking lot and Army barracks, was completely covered by snow.  Graduate students in the university's geography department conducted a study and, from the Bell Tower, photographed the paths on the snow made by students walking to class. The design of the sidewalks in Centennial Mall was then constructed using the layout of those paths. There are 290 trees located in the 9.7 acres of Mall area. The trees planted around the center circle were planted for each Mid-American Conference championship that a UT sports team accomplished. This shrine of trees is known as the Circle of Champions. Centennial Mall was completed in 1980 and provides the campus with an environmentally friendly look, which contributes to UT's ranking as one of the "100 most beautifully landscaped places in the country," according to the American Society of Landscape Architects. Only 22 college campuses are on the list.