The Nebraska Cornhuskers announced recently that they have canceled their long-planned home-and-home football series with the Tennessee Volunteers for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. The series, which was first scheduled for 2016 and 2017, had already been delayed by a decade.
CFB Fans React to Nebraska’s $1 Million Decision
According to a tweet by insider Brett McMurphy of the Action Network, the Cornhuskers will pay $500,000 for each of the two games that were scheduled to be played against the Volunteers.
Nebraska must pay $1 million buyout; it’s $500,000 for each game https://t.co/IjLuW9JFp4
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) February 21, 2025
“Nebraska cancels home/home series w/Tennessee in 2026 & 2027. Cornhuskers must pay $500,000 to cancel series, which was agreed on in 2006 & scheduled for 2016-17. However, series was moved back to 2026-27,” McMurphy tweeted.
In another tweet, he clarified, “Nebraska must pay $1 million buyout; it’s $500,000 for each game.”
The cancellation has disappointed many fans who had been looking forward to the rare contest between the two programs. The last time they met was in the 2016 Music City Bowl, where Tennessee won.
This time though, the two teams were scheduled to play in both Lincoln, Neb., and Knoxville, Tenn., giving fans a rare chance to travel to another campus for a game.
“Nebraska is so scared. True sign of a failing program. Maybe they should head back to the Big 12.” A fan opined.
“That’s a lot of corn,” a fan joked, referring to the team’s nickname and the state’s major crop.
— FlameVol (@Flame_Volunteer) February 21, 2025
With Nebraska’s cancellation, Tennessee now has to find a new Power Four opponent for its series. So, some fans sought to fix the Vols non-conference schedule themselves.
“Let’s move the [Washington] Huskies vs the Vols up a few years. Two of the greatest settings in college Football. Sailgaiting at it’s finest. We are not scheduled to play them till 2029. Have a home and home vs Bama 2029 and 2030. Will DeBeor [sic] even be there though?” A fan posted.
“@WSUCougarFB, let’s go to Tennessee,” another fan said, beckoning to the Washington State Cougars.
The situation also brings to light the talks of game arrangements between the SEC and Big Ten. In light of this, a fan wrote, “Ironically, the SEC and Big Ten have been discussing a scheduling agreement.”
WHO ELSE COULD THE VOLS PLAY? EXPLORE TENNESSEE’S OPTIONS
Nebraska allegedly canceled the series because it wanted eight home matchups in 2027, a season in which the Cornhuskers’ Memorial Stadium will be under renovation.
As reported by insider Pete Thamel, “Tennessee and Nebraska are canceling their upcoming football series, which was scheduled for 2026 in Lincoln and 2027 in Knoxville. A driver of the move was Nebraska wanting eight home games in 2027 when they expected reduced stadium capacity because of renovations.”
Tennessee’s athletic director, Danny White, clarified that Tennessee was not responsible for canceling the series in a tweet on Feb 21 and expressed his disappointment that Nebraska dropped the games just a year before it was supposed to be played.
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