Vols And Hokies At Bristol In 2016 Officially Announced
By Zach Ragan
Oct 14, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Frank Beamer and athletic director Jim Weaver and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway Jerry Caldwell and Speedway Motorsports Inc. president Marcus Smith and Tennessee Volunteers athletic director Dave Hart and head coach Butch Jones pose for a photo after announcing that the Tennessee Volunteers and Virginia Tech Hokies will play a football game on Sep. 10, 2016 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
It’s official — the Vols and the Hokies will be playing football inside the half-mile track at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 10, 2016.
The game has been dubbed the “Battle At Bristol” (as you can see in the video above) and the twitter hashtag #Biggestever2016 is already being utilized.
Bristol Motor Speedway can seat around 150,000, which would crush the previous record for largest attendance at a college football game (115,109 Notre Dame @ Michigan, 2013).
Here’s what an artists’ rendering of Bristol, with a football field, looks like.
Oct 14, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; A general view of a mockup of Bristol Motor Speedway before the announcement that the Tennessee Volunteers and Virginia Tech Hokies will play a football game on Sep. 10, 2016 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Tennessee head coach Butch Jones shared his excitement over being part of such a big event.
"We are looking forward to this opportunity to be a part of college football history. The chance to play in a great venue as Bristol Motor Speedway against a program the caliber of Virginia Tech is another illustration of how we are continuing to build upon our great and unique tradition here at Tennessee. Our players and everyone associated with our football program will have wonderful memories of being a part of such a historical event."
Jones was careful not to let the news of the Vols upcoming game at Bristol, overshadow his team’s preparation for South Carolina this Saturday.
"I want all of our focus on the great challenge we have this Saturday with South Carolina."
Tennessee’s previously scheduled series with Nebraska has been pushed back to 2026-27. Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart acknowledged that is still pending what the conference decides to do with future scheduling.
If you want to read between the lines, that means with a nine-game SEC schedule likely on it’s way that the series with Nebraska could stand a good chance of being canceled.