Tennessee football announces Checker Neyland for Texas game in 2026 season

Tennessee football will host Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns for its Checker Neyland game in the 2026 season.

Texas will make its first trip ever to Tennessee on Sept. 26. And Manning, the Longhorns quarterback, will face the Vols on the home turf of his uncle, legendary quarterback Peyton Manning. It should be quite a sight, per usual for the orange and white spectacle.

Checker Neyland was among the 2026 game designations that UT announced on May 5.

Checker Neyland showcases UT's checkerboard pattern across the stadium by utilizing the sections in a strategic manner. Fans are assigned either orange or white based on their seat location. Fans can find which color to wear at CheckerNeyland.com.

It will be the sixth straight season UT holds a Checker Neyland game following a four-year hiatus. It is the 10th Checker Neyland game at UT. The Vols are 4-5 in the nine previous Checker Neyland games with three of the wins coming against Florida. They are 3-2 in coach Josh Heupel's tenure in such games.

The first four Checker Neyland games were under coach Butch Jones. UT did not hold a Checker Neyland game during Jeremy Pruitt's tenure.

UT opens the 2026 season against Furman on Sept. 5 at Neyland Stadium.

When is Tennessee homecoming 2026 and Champions Weekend?

Tennessee also announced its 2026 homecoming game will be Nov. 7 when the Vols host Kentucky. UT is 5-0 against the Wildcats under Heupel.

The Champions Weekend game will be against Auburn on Oct. 3, when past teams and athletes who won SEC and NCAA titles celebrate anniversaries. Auburn is coached by former UT offensive coordinator Alex Golesh. And his safeties coach is Tim Banks, who UT fired as defensive coordinator in December.

The Salute to Service game will be against Kennesaw State on Sept. 19, when UT honors service members, veterans and their families. Kennesaw State is coached by former UT running backs coach Jerry Mack.

The Vols will celebrate senior day at their final home game against LSU on Nov. 21. The Tigers are coached by former UT head coach Lane Kiffin.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football announces Checker Neyland game vs Texas in 2026