NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — With the 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) bracket now set, Music City Bowl officials are looking ahead to trying to be a host location in the future.
With the new Nissan Stadium expected to be completed in 2027, the Nashville Sports Council (NSC) spoke to News 2 about its goal of being a part of college football's biggest stage in the years to come.
“We certainly would love to step up and have a bigger role in the postseason, but what that is is a little undefined right now,” said Scott Ramsey, Music City Bowl president and CEO of the NSC.
The dream of bringing a Super Bowl to Music City has already been discussed, especially considering the new $2.2 billion stadium will be enclosed, which is one of the NFL’s requirements for host sites.
Currently, Nashville continues to host the Music City Bowl game at Nissan Stadium. But with the upgraded stadium on the way and the CFP potentially evolving, Ramsey feels that Nashville could play a bigger part.
“I think there are a lot of things these first couple years here of the 12-team to kind of work through,” Ramsey said. “Is it going to stay at 12, go to 14, go to 16 and expand? Are they going to stay on campus or are they going to move to neutral sites, which would open up opportunities for us? We're getting prepared, but at the same time, we're going to have to be very reactive to decisions being made in the next 12 months or so about what the postseason wants to look like.”
As for now, University of Tennessee fans are focused on their upcoming first-round matchup against Ohio State in Columbus on Dec. 21. The game will be televised on News 2 at 7 p.m. CT.
"This is something our players have worked towards since last January," said Josh Heupel, head football coach for the University of Tennessee. "You earn the right to be in a game like this. Proud of what we've done throughout the course of the regular season. The new season starts here. There was an expectation inside of our program to earn the right to play in a game like this in the postseason, so, a lot of excitement in here but also understand we're getting ready to go play a great team and we've got to be at our best."
The winner of that game will advance to the quarterfinals to face the University of Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2025, in Pasadena.
