College football team announces poignant jersey tribute to the late Dolly Parton for season opener... on 9/5

The world of college football will honor the legacy of Dolly Parton next month after Middle Tennessee University revealed a poignant jersey tribute for its season opener.

The country music icon's death at the age of 80 left the world in mourning on Tuesday, and her family gathered in Nashville on Friday to lay her to rest.

Now, the tributes to Dolly have extended into the world of sports, with a local college well-known for its music center revealing its plans.

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders will have the singer's signature and butterfly logo on its jersey when the team plays Murray State next week, as well as the years of her life: '1946-2026'.

Appropriately, the game will take place on 9/5, a nod to Parton's song and appearance in the iconic 1980 film 9 to 5. 

In a statement, Athletics Director Chris Massaro said: 'Coach (Derek) Mason and I were talking about how we can honor one of the great Tennesseans and one of the greatest people in the world. 

'The football team is honored to wear this for our home opener.'

The program also revealed that the first of the game-worn jerseys will be donated to the MTSU's Center for Popular Music, which has extensively documented Parton's career and hosted discussions about her music.

While Parton is not an alum of the University itself, she is perhaps the most famous Tennessean of all-time and is beloved across the state. 

'We can't wait to have this [jersey] as part of our collection,' the center's director, Charlie Dahan, said. 'We have so much great Dolly stuff… so this is a wonderful addition.'

A QR code will also be beamed onto the scoreboard for fans to donate to Dolly's iconic Imagination Library on the night of the game. 

Parton's death was confirmed in a video posted on Instagram by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who served as her head of security. 

She passed away after being admitted on Friday to Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center with autoimmune and kidney problems, according to TMZ.

It was later revealed that the music legend had a brief battle with an undisclosed form of cancer. 

Four days before her death, she told People she had 'so many things I want to achieve,' including launching a new hotel and museum in Nashville.

'This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,' Seaver said in the clip.

He lauded his aunt for having 'lived in the light' and said she was now 'in the arms of Jesus' and the company of her late husband Carl Dean, as well as her parents and 'countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.'