KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team will welcome Florida State to Food City Center for the 2026 SEC/ACC Challenge, as revealed Friday morning by ESPN.
The contest between the Volunteers and Seminoles is slated for Dec. 1. The tip time and TV network will be announced later.
Tennessee sports a 5-4 record against Florida State, but the sides have met just once in the last 37 seasons (1989-2026). After starting 4-1 in the series—it dates to Dec. 9, 1957—the Volunteers are 1-3 in the last four clashes. They possess a 4-1 mark at home, a 0-1 ledger on the road and a 1-2 tally at neutral sites.
In the most recent meeting, the eventual ACC champion Seminoles registered a narrow 60-57 triumph on Nov. 29, 2019, at the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla.
The last time the squads faced off in Knoxville was on Dec. 19, 1987, in the third official home game at what is now Food City Center. It was the first overtime contest in the arena and the Volunteers collected an 81-78 decision.
Tennessee 1-2 in the SEC/ACC Challenge, which started in 2022-23. It fell by eight at North Carolina in the inaugural year of the event, before defeating Syracuse by 26 the following year and then dropping a two-point road decision against the Orange last season.
The Volunteers are 128-102 all-time against the current ACC membership, including a dazzling 10-2 over the last five seasons (2021-26). Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes is owns an 87-78 career record versus the current ACC schools, including a 4-5 figure against Florida State.
Through three years of the SEC/ACC Challenge, the SEC is 2-0-1 with an overall record of 30-16. It went 7-7 in the first edition, 14-2 in the second and 9-7 in the third.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
2026 SEC/ACC CHALLENGE MATCHUPS
Arkansas at North Carolina (Dec. 1)
Auburn at Clemson (Dec. 1)
Duke at Florid (Dec. 1)
Boston College at Georgia (Dec. 1)
Wake Forest at LSU (Dec. 1)
Pittsburgh at Missouri (Dec. 1)
Syracuse at Oklahoma (Dec. 1)
Ole Miss at Virginia Tech (Dec. 1)
South Carolina at NC State (Dec. 1)
Florida State at Tennessee (Dec. 1)
Texas at Louisville (Dec. 1)
Alabama at Miami (Dec. 2)
Kentucky at Virginia (Dec. 2)
Georgia Tech at Mississippi State (Dec. 2)
Stanford at Texas A&M (Dec. 2)
Vanderbilt at Notre Dame (Dec. 2)
