Tennessee AD Danny White comments on Vols football schedule change
The SEC announced on Wednesday that the Tennessee Vols' home and home series with the Oklahoma Sooners has been canceled. Tennessee was supposed to play Oklahoma in Knoxville in 2024 and on a TBD date in Norman (they were supposed to play in 2020 but the game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The […]
The SEC announced on Wednesday that the Tennessee Vols' home and home series with the Oklahoma Sooners has been canceled.
Tennessee was supposed to play Oklahoma in Knoxville in 2024 and on a TBD date in Norman (they were supposed to play in 2020 but the game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
The Sooners, along with the Texas Longhorns, are set to join the SEC in 2024. This appears to be a situation where the SEC didn't want to deal with one game between the two programs being a non-conference game and the second game being an SEC matchup.
Georgia and Oklahoma also were directed to cancel a home and home series that was set to take place in 2023 and 2031.
Alabama's game with Texas in 2023 wasn't canceled, which indicates that the cancellation of the OU/UT and OU/UGA games doesn't mean Texas and Oklahoma will be joining the SEC sooner than expected.
Vols athletic director Danny White commented on the cancellations after the announcement.
“While we are disappointed that we won’t be hosting Oklahoma in 2024, we are extremely excited about the marquee games that Oklahoma and Texas will bring to Neyland Stadium in the future as fellow members of the Southeastern Conference. In the meantime, we are actively exploring the best possible replacement opponents for 2024.”
The meeting between Tennessee and Oklahoma in 2024 would've been Josh Heupel's first time facing his alma mater since getting fired by former Sooners head coach Bob Stoops in 2014.
UT's only current non-conference opponents locked in for 2024 are UTEP and Kent State.
Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
