Memphis vs. Tennessee is a no-go, both in football and basketball.
The reason, according to collegebasketballtalk.com, is that the University of Tennessee refuses to schedule future football games with the University of Memphis, which consequently forces Memphis to refuse future basketball dates against the Volunteers.
New UT Men’s basketball head coach Rick Barnes said he would love to get Memphis back on the program’s regular non-conference schedule. Why? It’s not to gain state bragging rights. Barnes knows the Memphis metro area is one of the state’s top recruiting outlets for high school basketball. Playing at Memphis every other season gives him ample recruiting prowess in the area.
Ole Miss — which is about an hour from Memphis — recently agreed to a four-year football series with the Tigers. As a result, Ole Miss gets to play Memphis in basketball once a formal schedule is worked out; allowing the up-start Rebels to gain access to the hoops talent in “Bluff City.”
Here’s my guess for why UT refuses to suit up against the Tigers in football: Tennessee only wants games in Knoxville, which, understandably, Memphis isn’t agreeing to. The Volunteers might have been more willing to negotiate a better deal with the Tigers, but then they decided to go 10-3 and win the 2014 AAC football championship. Now, Memphis is no longer viewed as a “paycheck” game — the Vols don’t want to pay Memphis for a loss.
My theory might be incorrect, but it certainly makes sense, given the usual politics of college sports (I lost count of all the rivalries ended by conference realignment).
Even if a football series between Memphis and UT isn’t in the foreseeable future, expect the mild hostility between the two athletic departments to fuel passion between the fan bases.
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