Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas, left, scores a touchdown in front of Mississippi State defensive back Taveze Calhoun (23) in their game, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014, in Miami Gardens, Fla. KNOXVILLE -- Now the game is really official.
Tennessee and Georgia Tech will open the 2017 college football season in the Atlanta Falcons' new stadium on Labor Day Monday night as part of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game doubleheader that weekend.
The game between the Volunteers and Yellow Jackets, the former SEC rivals who haven't played since 1987, will follow the Alabama-Florida State matchup on Saturday.
Tennessee and Georgia Tech will play on Sept. 4, likely in a primetime television slot on ESPN.
"With Georgia Tech and Tennessee, you're talking about two powerhouse programs that we expect to be ranked in the top 25 coming in to the game," Peach Bowl, Inc, CEO and president Gary Stokan said in a release. "We're looking at a sure sellout and a lot of anticipation for a matchup like this."
The contract between the two programs for the game, which long had been in the works, was not yet available.
"It will be a great opportunity for our program to play in a new state-of-the-art facility while playing on a national stage," Vols coach Butch Jones said in a release. "The state of Georgia is very important to us in recruiting footprint, and that coupled with our alumni base and passionate fans, will make for a very exciting experience."
The Vols now will play neutral-site games in each of the next four seasons.
Tennessee opens the 2015 season against Bowling Green at the newly-renamed Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Sept. 5 and will play Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2016.
Following the game against Georgia Tech, Tennessee will play West Virginia in Charlotte to open 2018.
Television and the chance at premier matchups are part of the draw for such games, but Tennessee has another reason to schedule games like the 2017 opener.
Tickets sold to football games at Neyland Stadium and men's and women's basketball games at Thompson-Boling Arena are subject to a 4.5-percent amusement tax from the City of Knoxville. Knox County repealed its 0.5 percent portion of the amusement tax in August. Concerts and other events at those facilities aren't taxed.
The result from the amusement tax, which is levied on top of state and local sales tax of 9.25 percent, is an annual $1.6 million price tag for the Tennessee athletic department, which is trying to get the tax repealed since it is the only college program dealing with such extra costs.
Tennessee owns a 24-17-2 record against Georgia Tech, which finished 11-3 last season. The Jackets won at Georgia in overtime, lost to Florida State in the ACC championship game and hammered Mississippi State in the Orange Bowl. Paul Johnson is averaging better than eight wins per year in his seven seasons as coach.
The Vols played in a similar doubleheader in Atlanta in 2012, when Tennessee beat N.C. State 35-21 on a Friday night and Clemson edged Auburn 26-19 a night later in a matchup of ranked teams.
Tennessee's other non-conference games for 2017 are home tilts with Southern Mississippi, Indiana State and Massachusetts.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.