BLOG — Ole Miss Athletics Director Ross Bjork continued to tinker with the upcoming football schedule Wednesday with the announcement that the Rebels would play Memphis again on the gridiron.The Rebels, who last played Memphis in 2009, will meet the Tigers on the field again in 2014, according to information released by Ole Miss this morning. Ole Miss and Memphis will meet four straight years, on a home-and-home basis. The first game of the series will be played at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Bjork talked about balancing future schedules with winnable non conference games versus teams and fan bases that also provide revenue in Oxford. His latest statement on the series seems to back up that thought process of scheduling teams that can do both.
“It’s exciting for our fans both in Memphis and here in the state to see this natural rivalry resume in both sports,” Bjork said in the release. “The Memphis community is a priority, and this series is important for our growing alumni base in the area. From a football standpoint, Coach (Hugh) Freeze and I have the same scheduling philosophy and agreed it was imperative to continue to brand our program and put the Ole Miss flag in Memphis.”
Freeze coached in Memphis at Briarcrest Christian and he has placed an emphasis on recruiting high school players from Memphis, both now at Ole Miss and during his time at Arkansas State.
“The city of Memphis was a wonderful home to my family and me, and I look forward to playing in front of the many great fans we have there,” said Freeze, who a four-time Associated Press Coach of the Year at Briarcrest. “I’m thrilled to see the Ole Miss presence in Memphis continue to grow.”
In order to add Memphis to the schedule, Ole Miss made a decision to terminate an existing contract with Clemson for games in 2015 and 2016. According to the release, termination was a mutual agreement between Ole Miss and Clemson.
Ole Miss and Memphis will also meet in basketball, according to the release, once future schedules allow it. (July 18, 2012)
