KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee's football program on Thursday announced the finalization of a future home-and-home series with BYU.
The Volunteers will host the Cougars at Neyland Stadium in 2019 (Sept. 7) and make the return trip to Provo for the season opener in 2023 (Sept. 1 or 2).
Tennessee and BYU have never played in football, though the two tradition-rich programs have the identical number of wins (254) over the past 30 seasons (1977-2016) and are tied with current national champion Clemson for the ninth-most victories in major college football during that span.
BYU wrapped a 9-4 season, which included wins at Michigan State and at home against Mississippi State, with a 24-21 victory against old Western Athletic Conference and Mountain West Conference rival Wyoming in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.
Kalani Sitake is now in his second season as the coach at BYU, which left the MWC to become an independent in 2011 and competed as one of four Football Bowl Subdivision independents -- Notre Dame, Army and Massachusetts were the others -- in 2016.
The 1984 national champions have a storied history including 23 conference championships and appearances in 35 bowl games.
BYU running back Jamaal Williams, left, scores a touchdown against Wyoming during the first half of the Poinsettia Bowl NCAA college football game Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Ryan Kang) "There's something about those orange and white checkerboard end zones that shouts 'Tradition!'," BYU athletics director Tom Holmoe said in a release. "When the opportunity to play a series with Tennessee presented itself, we didn't blink.
"They're a storied football program with a winning tradition, national championships, a classic stadium, incredible fans and hall of fame coaches. It will be a great experience to visit SEC country and play in Neyland Stadium, and later host Tennessee in Provo."
The BYU game completes Tennessee's non-conference schedule as the Vols also will host Georgia State (Aug. 31), Chattanooga (Sept. 14) and UAB (Nov. 2).
Tennessee's marquee non-league games for the next two seasons are neutral site contests against Georgia Tech (Atlanta) in 2017 and West Virginia (Charlotte) in 2018, and there's also a two-game set with Pittsburgh slated for 2021 and 2022.
According to the contract between the two programs, there will be no compensation paid for either game, and each visiting team will receive an initial allotment of 5,000 tickets.
If either program cancels either game, it would owe the other $2 million, though there is a provision allowing BYU to cancel the 2023 game without penalty if it joins a Power Five Conference and begins playing a full conference schedule prior to that season.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.