“It’s really tied to the stadium renovation project": Nebraska AD opens up on decision to cancel Tennessee series

Nebraska canceled its 2026 and 2027 home-and-home football series with Tennessee due to planned renovations at Memorial Stadium. Athletic Director Troy Dannen cited financial concerns, particularly the reduced stadium capacity in 2027, as a key factor in the decision.

Dannen explained that playing seven home games with a 20% capacity reduction would be a "real financial killer" as Nebraska prepares for its revenue-sharing model.

“It’s really tied to the stadium renovation project,” Dannen told On3. “As months have gone on and we’ve really gotten our plans for what we want to do, it’s become more and more obvious that we were going to be down capacity in ’27, and there’s just no way around it.”

Nebraska attempted to reschedule the Tennessee series but could not reach an agreement.

“We approached Tennessee and said, ‘Hey, are you willing to push this back again? I know we already did it. But we did it at your request last time, so you could play that game at the racetrack. But could you push it back for us to accommodate this?’ They couldn’t, which I understand,” Dannen said.

“No harm there. This was our decision and our call. If they couldn’t push it back and delay it, we’d just cancel the series.”

To compensate, the school added an eighth home game in 2027 against Miami (OH) and another against Northern Iowa. The move ensures Nebraska plays either seven full-capacity home games or eight with a potential reduction.

Tennessee AD reflects on Nebraska canceling series

Tennessee Athletic Director Danny White expressed disappointment, emphasizing that the Volunteers did not initiate the cancellation. White wrote Friday on X:

"Correction: Tennessee is not canceling this series. Nebraska did. We are very disappointed that they didn’t want to play these games, especially this close to 2026."

With Nebraska backing out, Tennessee must find new non-conference opponents for 2026 and 2027. Originally scheduled in 2006 for the 2016 and 2017 seasons, the series had already been postponed before its cancellation. Nebraska will pay Tennessee a $1 million buyout.

The teams last faced off in the 2016 Music City Bowl, where Tennessee emerged victorious. Their most memorable clash came in the 1998 Orange Bowl, where Nebraska defeated Tennessee.