Reports: Tennessee, VT to play at Bristol track
College football's single-game attendance record could be shattered when Virginia Tech and Tennessee play at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2016.
Multiple media outlets reported Wednesday that the schools will play a neutral-site game at the racetrack, which has a capacity of 160,000. Neither school confirmed the news, though the Speedway called a press conference for Monday to make an announcement.
ESPN.com reported the game probably would be played Sept. 10, 2016.
The highest attendance to watch a college football game was 115,109, set last month when Michigan defeated Notre Dame at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
The Virginia Tech and Tennessee campuses are separated by 236 miles, with Bristol, Tenn., nearly at the midpoint.
According to NASCAR.com, the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles played an exhibition game at the racetrack in September 1961.
As far back as 2005, Speedway Motorsports Inc. offered the schools $20 million apiece to play at Bristol.
The only meetings between the Hokies and Volunteers in recent years came in bowl games. Virginia Tech beat Tennessee 37-14 in the 2009 Chick-fil-A Bowl, and Tennessee defeated Virginia Tech 45-23 in the 1994 Gator Bowl.
The schools' last regular-season matchup was in 1937, a 27-0 Tennessee win. The Vols hold a 5-3 edge in the all-time series.
