Tennessee played first postseason football game at Yankee Stadium
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No. 23 Tennessee (8-4, 4-4 SEC) will play Illinois (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten) in the 2025 Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl on Dec. 30.
Kickoff between the Vols and the Fighting Illini is slated for 5:30 p.m. EST at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. ESPN will televise the contest.
The contest will mark Tennessee’s 57th postseason appearance and the Vols’ 55th bowl game. Tennessee has a 31-26 postseason record following last season’s, 42-17, loss to Ohio State in the 2024 College Football Playoff.
Tennessee is 30-25 in bowl games recognized by the NCAA. The Vols also won in their first postseason appearance, defeating New York University, 13-0, in the 1931 New York Charity Game, contested on Dec. 5, 1931 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York.
The game was arranged by New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker and is not recognized by the NCAA.
Robert Neyland was in his sixth season as the Vols’ head coach. Tennessee entered the contest with an 8-0-1 record. Tennessee and Kentucky tied, 6-6, in 1931.
The Vols scored two touchdowns in the second quarter. The first came on a 65-yard run by
Deke Brackett scored on a 65-yard rushing attempt and Beattie Feathers scored on a 75-yard punt return.
Brackett and Feathers are enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, along with Gene McEver, who made a conversion after Tennessee’s first touchdown against the Violets. Neyland was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956.
After Herman Hickman’s defensive performance against New York University, he was named All-America by Grantland Rice, based solely on his play in the New York Charity Game.
The game marked the second time Tennessee played in New York. The Vols lost to Army, 41-0, in 1923 at West Point, New York. Neyland was an assistant coach for Army in 1923.
The 1931 Tennessee-New York University contest was played during the great depression to raise money for relief of the unemployed.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Tennessee football defeated NYU at Yankee Stadium in 1931
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