dduncan4163
Have at it Hoss
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https://www.seccountry.com/tennesse...ristol-the-biggest-college-football-game-ever
20 years in the making
Legendary race track owner Bruton Smith and his company Speedway Motorsports, Inc. bought the historic racetrack in 1996. Almost immediately, Smith and his leadership team had interest in hosting a football game.
Were in racing and college football country, those are the two things said Logan McCabe, vice president of consumer group at Bristol Motor Speedway. I guess you could throw religion in there too
To some, racing and college football is a religion.
Even walking through the NASCAR crowd, the demographics are obvious. Tennessee orange and Virginia Tech maroon dominated the crowd.
Bristol is positioned perfectly for a matchup of this caliber. While the track is in Bristol, Tenn., it is a sister city with nearby Bristol, Va., right on the cusp of ACC country. When a resident says they are Bristol, they make sure you know which side.
Anybody whos from the Tennessee side of Bristol is a UT fan, and the other side is full of Virginia Tech fans, said Jeremy Davidson, director of business development at Bristol Motor Speedway. People knew about the possibility, that this had been discussed for 20 years. This place is like a football stadium on steroids.
Smith came to the University of Tennessee with the idea first, but struggled to get everyone on board. It was the height of the Phil Fulmer era in Knoxville, but neutral-site games had not yet reached prominence. The talks died out.
Then in 2001, on a train to South Bend, Ind., before a Volunteer matchup with Notre Dame, talks started again.
The Tennessee athletic director came up to me and said we just planned a series against Marshall, and we think that would be a great game for your place, McCabe said. We came back and talked about it, but it just didnt make sense for us.
Then in 2005, Smith made a very sizable offer to both Tennessee and Virginia Tech to play at the racetrack. Bristol Motor Speedway is almost exactly halfway in between Tennessee and Virginia Tech 106 vs. 108 miles. Even though talks did not play out, the matchup became the focus.
Finally, between 2012 and 2013, things clicked. The late Jim Weaver, Virginia Techs athletic director, was enthusiastic about the event. Frank Beamer called Bristol Motor Speedway his second favorite venue in the world (behind Lane Stadium, of course).
Tennessee also showed renewed interest in the event, pitched as the biggest football game of all time. Dave Hart and Butch Jones both agreed to the event, which was announced in 2013. Pilot Flying J, founded by former Volunteer football player Jim Haslam, was announced as the lead sponsor in 2015.
We had a game.
This is an amazing read and it really puts into perspective everything that had to come together and happen for this game to exist today. It is going to be a once in a lifetime type of experience and come September 10 TN and VT will be the darlings of the American sports world.
Go Vols.
20 years in the making
Legendary race track owner Bruton Smith and his company Speedway Motorsports, Inc. bought the historic racetrack in 1996. Almost immediately, Smith and his leadership team had interest in hosting a football game.
Were in racing and college football country, those are the two things said Logan McCabe, vice president of consumer group at Bristol Motor Speedway. I guess you could throw religion in there too
To some, racing and college football is a religion.
Even walking through the NASCAR crowd, the demographics are obvious. Tennessee orange and Virginia Tech maroon dominated the crowd.
Bristol is positioned perfectly for a matchup of this caliber. While the track is in Bristol, Tenn., it is a sister city with nearby Bristol, Va., right on the cusp of ACC country. When a resident says they are Bristol, they make sure you know which side.
Anybody whos from the Tennessee side of Bristol is a UT fan, and the other side is full of Virginia Tech fans, said Jeremy Davidson, director of business development at Bristol Motor Speedway. People knew about the possibility, that this had been discussed for 20 years. This place is like a football stadium on steroids.
Smith came to the University of Tennessee with the idea first, but struggled to get everyone on board. It was the height of the Phil Fulmer era in Knoxville, but neutral-site games had not yet reached prominence. The talks died out.
Then in 2001, on a train to South Bend, Ind., before a Volunteer matchup with Notre Dame, talks started again.
The Tennessee athletic director came up to me and said we just planned a series against Marshall, and we think that would be a great game for your place, McCabe said. We came back and talked about it, but it just didnt make sense for us.
Then in 2005, Smith made a very sizable offer to both Tennessee and Virginia Tech to play at the racetrack. Bristol Motor Speedway is almost exactly halfway in between Tennessee and Virginia Tech 106 vs. 108 miles. Even though talks did not play out, the matchup became the focus.
Finally, between 2012 and 2013, things clicked. The late Jim Weaver, Virginia Techs athletic director, was enthusiastic about the event. Frank Beamer called Bristol Motor Speedway his second favorite venue in the world (behind Lane Stadium, of course).
Tennessee also showed renewed interest in the event, pitched as the biggest football game of all time. Dave Hart and Butch Jones both agreed to the event, which was announced in 2013. Pilot Flying J, founded by former Volunteer football player Jim Haslam, was announced as the lead sponsor in 2015.
We had a game.
This is an amazing read and it really puts into perspective everything that had to come together and happen for this game to exist today. It is going to be a once in a lifetime type of experience and come September 10 TN and VT will be the darlings of the American sports world.
Go Vols.
