Eastern Kentucky to play at Vanderbilt in 2027

By Kevin Kelley -

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels will play at the Vanderbilt Commodores in 2027, FBSchedules.com has learned.

A copy of the game contract was obtained from Eastern Kentucky University via a state open records request.

Eastern Kentucky will travel to face the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on September 4, 2027. Vandy will pay EKU a $415,000 guarantee for the game, according to the copy of the contract.

In their first and only meeting on the gridiron, Eastern Kentucky traveled to Nashville and fell to Vanderbilt 19-7 on October 23, 2004.

Eastern Kentucky is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). So far this season, EKU is 3-2 with wins over Valparaiso, Presbyterian, and Tennessee State and losses to Louisville and Indiana State.

Vanderbilt is the first scheduled non-conference opponent for Eastern Kentucky for the 2027 season.

Eastern Kentucky now has 11 future games scheduled against Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents. The Colonels are set to play at West Virginia (2020), Louisville (2021), Eastern Michigan (2022), Bowling Green (2022), South Alabama (2023), Kentucky (2023), Mississippi State (2024), Western Kentucky (2024), Louisville (2025), Ole Miss (2026), and Vanderbilt (2027).

EKU is the second scheduled non-conference opponent for the Vanderbilt Commodores in 2027. After opening the season at home against the Colonels, the Commodores will travel to take on the Stanford Cardinal on Sept. 11.

Vanderbilt now has six scheduled games against opponents from the FCS. The Commodores are set to host ETSU (2019 and 2021), Mercer (2020), Elon (2022), Charleston Southern (2023), and Eastern Kentucky (2027).

Football Schedules