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 Tennessee and Virginia Tech will play a game at Bristol Motor Speedway in September 2016, a person with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press. The person spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because an official announcement is still in the works.
The speedway holds 150,000. The NCAA-recognized attendance record for college football is 115,109, set last month at Michigan Stadium for the Michigan-Notre Dame game.
The Bristol Motor Speedway Commission announced plans for a news conference Monday at the track for what it called a major announcement, but gave no details.
"I can just tell you I'm going to be in Bristol on Monday from about 11 to 1," Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver said in a telephone interview Wednesday night. He said football coach Frank Beamer would be there as well.
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"I think it has the chance to be a really nice event," Weaver said, adding that the idea has been in the works for "three or four months."
Tennessee athletics spokesman Jason Yellin said the school could not comment.
Track officials have talked openly about trying to host a game at the speedway, and there has been speculation about a matchup between the Volunteers and Hokies for years.
Bristol is about halfway between the two campuses on Interstate 81, 110 miles northeast of Knoxville, Tenn., and 125 miles southwest of Blacksburg, Va.
[Associated
Press; By RALPH D. RUSSO]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
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