Memphis, Tennessee:

The 62nd AutoZone Liberty Bowl will be one for the history books as the Tennessee Volunteers will take on the West Virginia Mountaineers in a highly anticipated matchup. The AutoZone Liberty Bowl will take place on December 31st with a kickoff slated for 3 O’clock central time and can be seen on ESPN. These two programs have had a long history of playing in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

West Virginia will be making their third appearance in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, with the latest coming in 2014.

Tennessee will be making their fourth trip to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, the first in 34 years.

Steve Earhart, Executive Director of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, had this to say about the matchup between the Volunteers and Mountaineers:

We’re very familiar with both West Virginia and Tennessee. After more than three decades, we’re looking forward to hosting the Tennessee Volunteers and their great fans once again. We’re proud to have West Virginia’s Neal Brown coach his first bowl game with the Mountaineers in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. We have a history of head coaches making their bowl debuts in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, including Gary Patterson at TCU in 2002, Urban Myer at Utah in 2003, and Kirby Smart at Georgia in 2016.”

“The AutoZone Liberty Bowl will have a limited number of fans in attendance. We want to assure all fans, both our local supporters and the fans who will travel with the Mountaineers and Volunteers to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, we will be following all the health and safety protocols.”

West Virginia Head Coach Neal Brown had this to say about his matchup with Tennessee:

“I am excited for our program, especially for our seniors. We have handled the adversity of this season well, and we are looking forward to playing in this bowl game. The AutoZone Liberty Bowl and the city of Memphis have a long and storied tradition of hosting postseason games, and this gives our fans a chance to travel on New Year’s Eve to a bowl destination in a city with great hospitality.”

Head Coach of the Tennessee Volunteers, Jeremey Pruitt, had this to say about his matchup with West Virginia:

“We look forward to the opportunity of playing a bowl game in our home state. Since we returned to campus this summer, I am proud of our team in how they have navigated through the challenges presented during this unique season. They get another chance to take the field against a very good opponent in West Virginia. We know Memphis is a special place for Vol fans, and we look forward to seeing them on New Year’s Eve.”