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re: Why did the SEC only play 6 conference games a season up til the late 80's
Posted on 1/7/19 at 2:43 pm to Prof
Posted on 1/7/19 at 2:43 pm to Prof
quote:I can see where UT would not have wanted to cede the western half of Tennessee tot he Mississippi schools, and would want to play in Memphis to remind those folks that they were the University of Tennessee. I sort of think that's one reason why UGA played Auburn every year in Columbus, GA--didn't want the folks in Columbus and south Georgia just being Auburn fans out of proximity.
Were it not for giving fans in Memphis a game, I'm not sure Tennessee would've scheduled the Mississippi schools as much as we did. Schools were scheduling based on money and proximity a lot -- we've played OM 65 times and State (45 times) about as much as Florida (48 times).
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Posted on 1/7/19 at 2:51 pm to twk
quote:
I can see where UT would not have wanted to cede the western half of Tennessee tot he Mississippi schools, and would want to play in Memphis to remind those folks that they were the University of Tennessee.
That and the Liberty Bowl was bigger than Vaught Hemmingway. UT played Ole Miss in Memphis into the 90s when it was Ole Miss' "home game" and they'd play in Knoxville in the alternate years. Prior to 1997, Vaught Hemmingway only had a capacity of a little more than 40k. The Liberty Bowl held over 60k. Way back when, the two played in Crump Stadium in Memphis every year until the 50s.
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