The Battle at Bristol between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Virginia Tech Hokies will be televised in primetime at 8:00pm ET on ABC, several outlets reported on Wednesday.
The matchup, officially dubbed the Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol, is set for Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Organizers of the event hope to create the largest crowd ever to watch a college football game, perhaps 150,000 or more.
Bristol Motor Speedway is a NASCAR short track that opened back in 1961. Tennessee-Virginia Tech will be the first football game at Bristol since an NFL preseason game between Philadelphia and Washington in 1961.
The gridiron on the infield of Bristol Motor Speedway will hang around the following week to host another college football game. On Sept. 17, the East Tennessee State Buccaneers will host the Western Carolina Catamounts in an event dubbed the Bucs at Bristol.
Tennessee is set to open the 2016 season with a primetime matchup at home against the Appalachian State Mountaineers on Thursday, Sept. 1. The game will be televised by the SEC Network at 7:30pm ET.
Virginia Tech opens the 2016 season at home against the Liberty Flames, also on Saturday, Sept. 3. The game is set for a 12:30pm ET start on the ACC Network.
Football Schedules