LINCOLN — Cancelling its home-and-home football series against Tennessee will cost Nebraska a hefty price — way more than the $1 million the Huskers will have to dish out to the Volunteers.
Nebraska announced last week that it would be cancelling its 2026, 2027 scheduled football series against Tennessee, opting instead to add two non-conference home games against Bowling Green and Miami (Ohio) instead.
In all, removing Tennessee off of its scheduled, plus adding those two new opponents, will cost Nebraska $4,150,000, according to game contracts obtained by The Hastings Tribune through public records.
The Huskers will be paying Bowling Green $1,550,000 and Miami (Ohio) $1.6 million as game guarantees, according to those game contracts.
Nebraska will also be paying Northern Iowa $600,000 for a 2027 home non-conference game that was also announced by the program last week (though that doesn’t factor into related costs from the Tennessee fallout).
In a released statement, Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen said cancelling the Tennessee series will help offset the costs expected from major renovations at Memorial Stadium, that might impact seating capacity during the 2027 season. “The best scenario for us is to have eight home games in 2027 to offset any potential revenue loss from a reduced capacity,” Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen said in a released statement. “The additional home games will also have a tremendous economic benefit on the Lincoln community.”
Tennessee was scheduled to play in Lincoln in 2026, with Nebraska playing in Knoxville in 2027.
The Huskers had to pay Tennessee $1 million dollars for the canceled games, or $500,000 for each game.
In an interview with HuskerOnline, Dannen said Nebraska approached Tennessee with an ask to push back the series, which had already been pushed back by Tennessee for schedule flexibility in 2016, so the Volunteers could play Virginia Tech in a game at Bristol Motor Speedway. However, Tennessee declined.
The Huskers will now play Ohio, Bowling Green and North Dakota in their 2026 non-conference slate, and Northern Illinois, Miami (Ohio) and Northern Iowa in 2027.
Despite cancelling the Tennessee series, Nebraska still has future Power Four home-and-home games scheduled with Arizona, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.