Memphis motivated to keep basketball game vs. Tennessee on 2020-21 schedule

As details regarding the college basketball season continue to come into focus, one aspect of Memphis’ schedule remains clear.

Whether the game is held on Dec. 18, Dec. 20 or another date, whether it is held at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena or elsewhere, whether some fans are allowed to attend or not: the Tigers are highly motivated to keep their game with Tennessee on the schedule. The rubber match of the current three-game series will conclude the only standing agreement between the schools.

And, as it stands now, the matchup is still on.

“There has not been any discussion of changing that yet,” Memphis athletics director Laird Veatch told The Commercial Appeal on Wednesday.

Reports last week indicated the NCAA has zeroed in on Nov. 25 as the target date to begin the 2020-21 season. Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball, said last month the governing body plans to announce how it will proceed “by mid-September.” Veatch said the disclosure of the NCAA’s plans will provide more clarity on how Memphis’ nonconference schedule will be affected.  

No matter what happens, though, keeping this season’s Memphis-Tennessee game on the books is a top priority.

“We definitely would want to find every way we possibly could to play that ball game,” Veatch said. “You want to play every one. But certain ones seem to be more of a driver than others.”

The Vols won the first game at FedExForum in 2018, before the Tigers evened the series at Thompson-Boling Arena in 2019. It is unclear whether there have been discussions to renew the series. 

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reported Tuesday the Tigers could add one or more nonconference games at Holiday Hoopsgiving in December. The event, which originally had Memphis facing Auburn on Dec. 12 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, is working on plans to create a bubble and have each of the 10 participating teams play multiple games, Borzello reported. Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Dayton, LSU, Clemson, Alabama and South Florida make up the rest of the event’s original field.

Also Tuesday, CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander reported the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament originally set for Nov. 25-27 in the Bahamas is exploring holding the event at The Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. and other cities. Memphis, Duke, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Creighton, Wichita State, West Virginia and Utah make up the field for that tournament, and each team is guaranteed three games.

Besides games associated with Holiday Hoopsgiving and the relocated Battle 4 Atlantis, the Tigers currently have nonconference games scheduled for Mississippi Valley State (Nov. 10), Arkansas State (Nov. 14), Murray State (Nov. 21), Ole Miss (Dec. 5), Tennessee (Dec. 18 or 20), Central Arkansas (Dec. 27) and Georgia (Jan. 2).

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.