Alabama is hooking up with Texas.
The Crimson Tide and the Longhorns will play a home-and-home football series during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the schools announced Wednesday. The storied programs are scheduled to meet in Austin on Sept. 10, 2022, and vie again in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 9, 2023.
"We're thrilled to be able to add another incredible nonconference opponent with the University of Texas for a home-and-home series," Crimson Tide athletic director Greg Byrne said in a university release. "It's been nearly 100 years since Alabama has visited Austin and over a century since the Longhorns have traveled to Tuscaloosa, so we're looking forward to it."
Central Florida had been scheduled to play at Texas on Sept. 9, 2023, but that matchup has been canceled.
Texas holds a commanding 7-1-1 series lead against Alabama, but the Tide won the most recent encounter, 37-21 in the BCS title game after the 2009 season. That victory resulted in the first of coach Nick Saban's five national championships with the Tide.
"The Crimson Tide and Longhorns have played a lot of memorable games over the years," Saban said, "and the addition of this home-and-home series will be great for not only our fans, but fans of college football."
Last month, Alabama and Notre Dame announced a home-and-home series for the 2028 and 2029 seasons, with the first of those matchups hosted by the Fighting Irish in South Bend, Ind.
In other Alabama scheduling news, this year's Sept. 1 opener against Louisville in Orlando, Fla., will have an 8 p.m. kickoff. ABC will televise the contest from Camping World Stadium.
The Tide and the Cardinals will be meeting for a fourth time, with Alabama having swept Louisville in back-to-back homecoming games, 24-3 in 1976 and 55-6 in 1977. Louisville pulled a surprising 34-7 rout of the Tide in the Fiesta Bowl after the 1990 season.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.