By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In 2016 – the last time the Tennessee Tech football team saw the orange and white checkerboards of Neyland Stadium -- it had been 65 years since the Golden Eagles had made a journey up the road to take on the University of Tennessee.
The return trip this time isn't taking nearly as long.
As the Tennessee Tech football team works to prepare for the 2020-21 spring season, the Golden Eagles found out on Wednesday they would make a return to Neyland Stadium in the fall of 2021, taking on the Tennessee Volunteers on September 18.
The game time, as well as the remainder of the fall 2021 schedule, will be announced at a later date.
It was already a busy day in Knoxville as the Volunteers hired Josh Heupel as their new head football coach, departing from Central Florida to take on the post in the Southeastern Conference. The league then released its complete slate for Fall 2021.
The Golden Eagles are 0-6 all-time against the Volunteers in a series that dates back to 1947. The two teams squared off for five consecutive seasons between 1947 and 1951 between the guidance of Tech head coaches Hooper Eblen and Star Wood.
Marcus Satterfield was at the helm in 2016 when the two teams renewed the series. The Neyland Stadium seats held 98,343 fans on that November 5 afternoon, the largest crowd to watch a Tennessee Tech game in program history. Dontez Byrd caught nine passes for 121 yards to lead the Golden Eagles as quarterback Michael Birdsong completed 17 of his 35 passes for 164 yards.
Tech is 2-35 in competition against the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision since the 1978 Division I split.
The Golden Eagles are no stranger to competition against the SEC, facing Arkansas (2010), Auburn (2007), Georgia (2009) and Tennessee (2016) in recent years, as well as previous visits to Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Tech is 2-27-2 against the SEC in program history – two wins and a tie coming against Sewanee during its 1932-1940 membership, as well as a tie against Vanderbilt in 1939.
The Volunteers finished 3-7 in the 2020 campaign, collecting victories in their first two games of the season over South Carolina and Missouri, then former head coach Jeremy Pruitt's squad picked up a late-season win over Vanderbilt.
Tech, meanwhile, joined the vast majority of the Division I Football Championship Subdivision in postponing the fall 2020 season into the spring of 2021. The Golden Eagles will open their 2020-21 campaign on February 21 as they host Austin Peay.
Tickets for Tennessee Tech football are now on sale. Visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office, log on to TTUsports.com or call (931) 372-3940 to order.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information, file
