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Report: Tennessee adds non-conference game to 2024 schedule

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz01/26/22NickSchultz_7
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Dannie Walls/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images.

Tennessee is getting to work on its future schedules. The Volunteers added a game to their 2024 slate on Wednesday.

Tennessee is planning to host Kent State for a home game in 2024, according to FBSchedules.com. The Volunteers will pay the Golden Flashes $1.35 million to play the game, per the report.

Kent State also added a road game against Pitt to its 2024 schedule, FBSchedules.com reported. Pitt will pay the Golden Flashes $1.1 million.

Kent State went 7-7 overall and 6-2 in MAC play this past season. That conference record set up a league title game showdown with Northern Illinois — a 41-23 Huskies victory. Still, the Golden Flashes ended up in the Idaho Potato Bowl, where they fell to Wyoming 58-32 on Dec. 21.

Tennessee went 7-6 overall and 4-4 in SEC action in Josh Heupel’s first season at the helm in 2021. The Volunteers played in the Music City Bowl where they lost to Purdue 48-45 in a thrilling overtime game.

Tennessee football self-reports recruiting NCAA violation

Tennessee has self-reported a Level III NCAA violation that occurred prior to an October matchup with Ole Miss. According to Adam Sparks of the Knoxville New Sentinel, recruits walked on the path of Tennessee’s pregame Vol Walk, which is a NCAA violation.

The large crowd for Tennessee’s game against Ole Miss resulted in the recruits, who were supposed to watch the Vol Walk from outside, actually ending up participating in it.

“After getting stuck at the top of the street where buses would unload the football team in approximately 5-10 minutes, and being unable to get back to an area away from the street because of directions from police officers working crowd control, (the assistant director of recruiting) made the decision to direct the prospects toward the stadium as quickly as possible,” the university report said, via Sparks.

“At that point, because of the number of fans, this involved walking down the street and created an impermissible gameday simulation.”

Following the incident, Tennessee self-reported the violation, and also self-imposed sanctions. According to Sparks, this included training for staff, less recruiting contact opportunities, and a revamped path for recruits in the pregame festivities. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel was also informed that a future violation of that nature could end up getting him suspended.

“The SEC further ruled that UT could not have in-person off-campus contact with the involved recruits for 14 days, beginning Dec. 8, and the assistant director of recruiting could not engage in recruiting activities from Dec. 10-12,” Sparks said.

“And the NCAA required UT to suspend the assistant director of recruiting for one game, and the football program reduced its recruiting evaluation days by two.”