The Tennessee Volunteers have added the ETSU Buccaneers to their 2025 football schedule, FBSchedules.com has learned.
A copy of the football game agreement with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville was obtained from East Tennessee State University via a state public records request.
Tennessee will host ETSU at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. The Volunteers will pay the Buccaneers a $575,000 guarantee for the contest, according to the copy of the contract that was executed on July 13, 2020.
Tennessee and ETSU’s only contest on the gridiron was played on Sept. 8, 2018 in Knoxville. The Volunteers defeated the Buccaneers in that game, 59-3.
ETSU is a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). In their first season under head coach George Quarles in 2022, the Buccaneers finished 3-8 overall and 1-7 in SoCon action.
Tennessee is scheduled to open the 2025 season on Saturday, Aug. 30 against the Syracuse Orange in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. The Volunteers are also slated to host the UAB Blazers at Neyland Stadium on Sept. 20 that season.
If the SEC continues to play an eight-game conference schedule in 2025, Tennessee will need one additional non-conference game to complete their schedule.
The Volunteers are now scheduled to face an FCS opponent in each season though 2026. Tennessee will host Austin Peay in 2023, Chattanooga in 2024, ETSU in 2025, and Furman in 2026.
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