The Tennessee Volunteers have added the Tennessee State Tigers to their 2027 football schedule, FBSchedules.com has confirmed. A copy of the football game agreement with Tennessee State University was obtained from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Tennessee will host Tennessee State at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2027. The Volunteers will pay the Tigers a $600,000 guarantee for the contest, according to the copy of the contract.
The 2027 Tennessee vs. Tennessee State matchup will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.
News of the Tennessee State at Tennessee contest was first reported by The Tennessean last month. The report indicated that Tennessee State University Director of Athletics Mikki Allen was lobbying to move the game against the Volunteers to the new Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.
“We’ve been working on the Tennessee game for a while,” Allen told The Tennessean. “It’s going to be a special game. We’re still working with their administration to figure out where to play. Because we’re here by the state capital and would love to play that game in the inaugural year at the new Nissan Stadium.”
The Tennessean report also stated that Tennessee State was set to play future games at Georgia, Middle Tennessee, and Vanderbilt in the coming years. To date, only the game at Middle Tennessee has been officially contracted (Sept. 1, 2029; $350,000 guarantee).
The Tennessee Volunteers now have three scheduled non-conference games in 2027 with the addition of Tennessee State. The Vols are also scheduled to host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Sept. 11 and the Western Michigan Broncos on Sept. 18.
Tennessee is the second scheduled non-conference opponent for Tennessee State in 2027. The Tigers are also scheduled to host the Alabama A&M Bulldogs on Sept. 11.
Football Schedules
Tennessee State Football Schedule