The Vanderbilt Commodores have added the Kennesaw State Owls to their 2027 football schedule, FBSchedules.com has learned. A copy of the game contract was obtained from the Kennesaw State University via a state public records request.
Vanderbilt will host Kennesaw State at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, September 18, 2027. The Commodores will pay the Owls a $1 million guarantee for the contest, according to the copy of the contract that was executed on August 13, 2025.
The contract also includes a stipulation that the two schools will meet in one men’s basketball game and one women’s basketball game in Nashville, which will each be contracted separately. The $1 million guarantee covers all three contests.
Vanderbilt and Kennesaw State have never met on the gridiron previously. In just its third season at the FBS level, Kennesaw State claimed the 2025 Conference USA championship, finishing 10-3 overall and 7-1 in league action.
With Kennesaw State added, Vanderbilt has tentatively completed its slate of non-conference opponents for 2027. The Commodores are also scheduled to host Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 4 and visit Stanford on Sept. 11, which satisfies their power scheduling requirement from the SEC.
In SEC action next fall, Vanderbilt is slated to host Auburn, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas, while visiting LSU, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas A&M.
Kennesaw State now has three of its four non-conference matchups scheduled for the 2027 season. The Owls are slated to visit Indiana on Sept. 4 and Louisiana on Sept. 25.
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To be the lone home non-conference game, I'm hoping Kennesaw State gets to play one of their former Big South foes, such as Campbell, Charleston Southern, or Gardner-Webb.