Tennessee is playing a regular-season game against North Carolina State on Saturday. Not in Neyland Stadium or on the Wolfpack campus in Raleigh, but in Charlotte. Why?
Easy answer for even a casual fan. TV.
Nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st century, we accept that television dictates the when and occasionally the where of college football.
A date between quality foes from the SEC and ACC would be a festive occasion for either campus. But there will be no Vol Navy anchored outside the stadium in Charlotte. Instead, we have the Duke’s Mayo Classic.
Country music singer Kenny Chesney kisses UT football mascot “Smokey” with analysts Lee Corso, center, and Kirk Herbstreit as they pick the game winner on ESPN College GameDay from Circle Park on the University of Tennessee campus on Sept. 15, 2012. Chesney appeared as the guest game picker of the week.
Such early-season events are relatively new to college football. They are also another manifestation of TV’s ever-increasing domination. Would once-unthinkable conference expansion happen without TV?
For Tennessee, it began with the 1987 Kickoff Classic on ABC. The Vols went to East Rutherford, New Jersey, to open the season against Iowa. Hey, a New York road trip and a great game. All good.
Then came the 1990 Pigskin Classic, a Disney production on NBC in Anaheim, California. UT and Colorado, two preseason top-10 teams, played to a 31-31 tie.
The Aug. 26 kickoff still stands as the earliest start in Tennessee history. Still, another great game and fun destination.
The Vols weren’t invited to another “special’’ opener until 2012, the Chick-fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta against N.C. State. That ESPNU got the game signified maybe it wasn’t the national headliner.
Neither were a 2017 opener in Atlanta against Georgia Tech or in 2018 in Charlotte against West…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-tennessee-football-playing-charlotte-130140579.html
Author : Knox News | The Knoxville News-Sentinel
Publish date : 2024-09-04 13:01:40
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