Tennessee football game times, TV announced for first three games of 2026 season

Tennessee football will play the 2026 season opener in the afternoon against Furman, followed by a pair of night games.

Game times and TV arrangements were announced for UT's first three contests on May 27.

Tennessee will play Furman at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sept. 5, at Neyland Stadium. It will be aired on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.

The Vols will play at Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. on Sept. 12, on ESPN.

Tennessee will play Kennesaw State at 7:45 p.m. on Sept. 19, at Neyland Stadium. It will be televised on SEC Network. That will also serve as the Salute to Service game, when UT honors service members, veterans and their families.

The remaining game time windows — early, afternoon, night or flex — will be announced on June 10.

UT's home game designations have already been announced. The Checker Neyland game will be against Texas on Sept. 26. The Champions Weekend game will be against Auburn on Oct. 3, when past teams and athletes who won SEC and NCAA titles celebrate anniversaries. The homecoming game will be against Kentucky on Nov. 7. And the Vols will celebrate senior day against LSU on Nov. 21.

Here is Tennessee’s week-to-week schedule for the 2026 season.

Tennessee football 2026 schedule

• Sept. 5: Furman (3:30 p.m. ET/ESPN+, SEC Network+)
• Sept. 12: At Georgia Tech (7 p.m. ET/ESPN)
• Sept. 19: Kennesaw State (7:45 p.m. ET/SEC Network)
• Sept. 26: Texas*
• Oct. 3: Auburn*
• Oct. 10: At Arkansas*
• Oct. 17: Alabama*
• Oct. 24: At South Carolina*
• Oct. 31: Open
• Nov. 7: Kentucky*
• Nov. 14: At Texas A&M*
• Nov. 21: LSU*
• Nov. 28: At Vanderbilt*

*SEC game

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 game times, TV channel announced for first three games