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NASHVILLE, Tenn. –** Vanderbilt's Southeastern Conference home opener against the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday, Sept. 6 will be staged in Nashville's LP Field.
Officials from the Vanderbilt and Ole Miss athletic departments jointly announced the LP Field venue for the 89th meeting between the schools.
The Ole Miss game is included in Vanderbilt's season ticket offer, which features an early-bird deadline of April 13 for prices at 2013 levels, Vanderbilt Associate Athletics Director Steve Walsh said.
With the Commodores' upcoming schedule loaded with eight home dates, Vanderbilt Athletics Director David Williams II pushed to move the game to LP Field, which serves as the regular home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans.
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| Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason discusses the Commodores game against Mississippi that is scheduled for Sept. 6 at LP Field. The other seven home games in 2014 will be at Vanderbilt Stadium. |
"This is a special opportunity for Commodore Nation to enjoy a great football game and have a great time downtown," Williams said. "We have typically had outstanding games with Ole Miss and with eight home games we thought moving this one off-campus will further create an electric, bowl-like atmosphere. We are expecting a very good football game in a very good environment."
The game at LP Field will be the first between the Commodores and Rebels played off campus since 1966 when the teams met in Jackson, Miss. Seven early games in the series, which dates back to 1894, were played in Memphis.
The Ole Miss game will mark Vanderbilt's fifth appearance in LP Field. The Commodores are 2-2 in the venue, earning victories in the 2008 and 2012 Music City Bowls, and dropping regular season decisions against Tennessee in 2000 and 2002.
In 2013, the Rebels capped an 8-5 record with a 25-17 win over Georgia Tech in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, played Dec. 31 at LP Field.
Vanderbilt and Ole Miss have developed one of the SEC's most competitive rivalries. Though Ole Miss leads the series 48-38-2, the Commodores have captured five of the last seven encounters against the Rebels. The last two games between the teams have been decided in the final seconds, with Vanderbilt capturing a 27-26 victory at Ole Miss in 2012 and the Rebels returning the favor 39-35 last year in Nashville.
The two schools have played annually since 1970. Vanderbilt has faced only two other schools, Tennessee and Kentucky, more frequently than Ole Miss in football.
The Commodores open the season with four consecutive games in Nashville, starting with Temple at Vanderbilt Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 28. After the Ole Miss contest, the Commodores return to Vanderbilt Stadium to face the UMass Minutemen on Saturday, Sept. 13, and the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, Sept. 20. Other on-campus games for the Commodores are Charleston Southern on Oct. 11, Old Dominion on Nov. 1, Florida on Nov. 8 and Tennessee on Nov. 29.
Tickets to the Vanderbilt-Ole Miss game are $58 for lower level seats, $68 for club level, and $38 for upper level.
Through April 13, season tickets to Vanderbilt's eight-game home schedule are available as low as $161 (north end-zone berm) and $181 (south end-zone seats). Premium sideline seats are available for $351. Vanderbilt employees get a discounted price of $281 for sideline seats.
All season ticket holders renewing by the April 13 early-bird deadline also are eligible for a series of drawings that include travel with the Commodores to away games, sideline and suite passes, operating the "Admiral" touchdown horn at Vanderbilt Stadium, and commemorative footballs autographed by Coach Mason.
