A Nashville group has "been quietly working toward putting together an annual, high-profile, early-season college football game for LP Field" beginning as early as '16, according to sources cited by John Glennon of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. Each game would "match an SEC team against a high-quality team from another conference." The format "compares to the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic, which has been held annually in Atlanta" since '08. Sources said that the Titans "would provide use of the stadium." Music City Sports & Entertainment Group CEO Tammy Genovese said, "We are about 60-90 days from making an announcement." Glennon noted the state's occupational privilege tax on athletes could be "a potential stumbling block" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 3/26).
LOOKS FAMILIAR: CBSSPORTS.com's Jerry Hinnen wrote it is "worth asking if the market for a blockbuster SEC-vs.-Name-Brand-Opponent-X games has already been saturated; just because Atlanta's and Houston's games and the Cowboys Stadium game (which usually involves an SEC team as well) have been successes doesn't automatically mean Nashville's will be, too, particularly if the SEC moves to a nine-game schedule and cuts back on aggressive nonconference scheduling." Then again, Ole Miss and Boise State "will play the Chick-Fil-A undercard this season, a game they would likely prefer get the spotlight treatment in Nashville if it had been possible." Tennessee has "rarely been afraid to schedule big-name teams out of conference" and "might approve of playing a team like Oregon once in Nashville over a home-and-home that involves a trip to Eugene." Hinnen: "So there's reasons to think Nashville's plan will work, too" (CBSSPORTS.com, 3/26).
