Nebraska football is opting out of its upcoming home-and-home series against Tennessee, ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported on Friday morning.
The Huskers owe Tennessee $500,000 to get out of the upcoming matchups according to the original contract. Tennessee was set to face Nebraska in Lincoln during the 2026 football season and then in Knoxville during the 2027 season.
Director of Athletics Danny White and Tennessee football are now searching for a new home-and-home partner to play those two seasons. That is a very difficult task with the first matchup originally schedule to take place in 19 months.
According to Thamel’s report, part of the reason Nebraska opted out of the series is that they wanted to add another home game during the 2027 season because they will have decreased capacity at Memorial Stadium. Because of that decreased capacity, the Huskers are trying to add another home game to make up for the lost profits the rest of the season.
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Tennessee’s current power five non conference matchups in future years include a matchup against Syracuse in Atlanta in 2025, against West Virginia in Charlotte in 2028 and a home-and-home against Washington in 2029 and 2030.
While Nebraska is cancelling this home-and-home, Tennessee has been guilty of cancelling non conference games in the past. The Vols cancelled a return trip to Provo for the second game of a home-and-home against BYU in 2023. Tennessee also bought out of a home game against Army in 2022.
Neutral site games against ACC opponents have been a staple of Tennessee’s non conference schedule in recent years. They played against Virginia in Nashville in 2023 and North Carolina State in Charlotte in 2024.
