Tennessee is reshaping the front end of its schedules in 2027 and 2028 to line up with the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee’s proposal to start seasons in the final week of August. What had been treated as Week 0 would become Week 1 under the change, and the Vols have already adjusted accordingly.
The biggest shift comes right away in 2027, when Tennessee will open at home against Georgia Tech on Aug. 28. That game had previously been placed after Tennessee State and ahead of Western Michigan on Sept. 11, but now it becomes the season opener.
The same kind of move is happening in 2028, when the Vols will begin against West Virginia in Charlotte in the Duke’s Mayo Classic on Aug. 26.
That matchup had been scheduled for Sept. 2.
Tennessee also moved its 2028 game against Chattanooga up to Sept. 2, after it had originally been set for Sept. 16 in Knoxville.
Those changes also affect the calendar structure around Tennessee’s SEC slate. With a nine-game conference schedule, the Vols will now have two open dates in both seasons. By comparison, Tennessee currently has only one off week in 2026, which also includes nine conference opponents.
Here’s how Tennessee’s upcoming schedules now look:
2027
Non-Conference
vs. Georgia Tech (Aug. 28)
vs. Tennessee State (Sept. 4)
vs. Western Michigan (Sept. 18)
SEC (Dates TBD)
vs. Florida
vs. Ole Miss
vs. Mississippi State
vs. Vanderbilt
at Alabama
at Georgia
at Kentucky
at Missouri
at Oklahoma
2028
Non-Conference
vs. West Virginia [Charlotte] (Aug. 26)
vs. Chattanooga (Sept. 2)
vs. Central Michigan (Sept. 9)
SEC (Dates TBD)
vs. Alabama
vs. Arkansas
vs. Kentucky
vs. South Carolina
vs. Texas A&M
at Auburn
at LSU
at Texas
at Vanderbilt
2029
Non-Conference
vs. Washington (Sept. 1)
vs. Chattanooga (Sept. 8)
vs. Bowling Green (Sept. 15)
SEC (Dates TBD)
vs. Georgia
vs. Missouri
vs. Oklahoma
vs. Vanderbilt
at Alabama
at Florida
at Kentucky
at Ole Miss
at Mississippi State
2030
Non-Conference
vs. UT Martin (Aug. 31)
at Washington (Sept. 7)
SEC
TBD
2031
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