NCAA Football At A Racetrack?

According to various media outlets, Virginia Tech and the University of Tennessee have agreed to play a football game at the Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS), which is located in northeastern Tennessee about half way between the two schools, in 2016.  Rumors of such plans have been around for years, but this is the first time that the media have said anything.  The two schools, however, have not yet confirmed the story, so for the time being, keep some sodium chloride handy.  Hosting a football game will require that BMS remove some buildings from their infield and construct an artificial surface football field.

If this game is played, it could set an NCAA attendance record, due to the speedway's seating capacity of around 160,000.  It would not, however, be the first football game at BMS.  During the NFL preseason of 1961, the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins played there.  Over the years, Virginia Tech and Tennessee have faced each other in eight football games, with Tennessee winning five of them.  The last two have been bowl games, with Tennessee winning the 1994 Gator Bowl, led by a young quarterback named Peyton Manning, and Virginia Tech winning the 2009 Chik-Fil-A Bowl.  In an interesting historical coincidence, Virginia Tech's kicker in 1994 and their starting tailback in 2009 were both named Ryan Williams.

Read more at TechSideline, Gobbler Country and the Roanoke Times.