KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team will open its 2024-25 campaign with a charity exhibition game Oct. 27 against Indiana at Food City Center, as announced Tuesday morning.
NCAA rules mandate that for an exhibition game between two Division I teams, the host school must sell tickets and donate the proceeds to a designated charity. Tennessee and Indiana have jointly agreed to support the John McLendon Foundation.
Season ticket holders can log in to their AllVols Account and purchase their season ticket location for this game from now through Sept. 9. The general public on-sale date is Sept. 16. The tip time and TV network will be announced at a later date.
“We are thrilled to host one of the best programs in the nation and support a worthy cause at the same time. I have a great deal of respect for Coach Woodson and I look forward to sharing a sideline with him for the first time,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said. “Indiana’s first visit to Knoxville provides an excellent test for our guys before the season officially begins. Most of all, though, it is a great way to raise money for an impactful organization whose mission I fully support.”
Named for the esteemed Naismith Memorial Basketball of Fame member, the John McLendon Foundation offers scholarships for minority students who intend to pursue a postgraduate degree in athletics administration.
It is also home to the McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative, a new coach-driven program to create access to and opportunity for meaningful employment experience for minority candidates known as Future Leaders.
“On behalf of the McLendon Foundation, we are humbled by the continued support of Coach Barnes and Coach Woodson,” McLendon Foundation director Adrien Harraway said. “This game between the University of Tennessee and Indiana University demonstrates how sports can bring us together to inspire the next generation of sports leaders.”
The Volunteers and Hoosiers have met four prior times, all in official games at neutral sites. Three of the affairs were in the postseason, with just one in the regular season, while all four games came between 1967 and 1985.
Indiana is 4-0 in the all-time series and, in the most recent meeting, notched a 74-67 decision on March 27, 1985, in the NIT Semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The Volunteers are 87-18 all-time in exhibition games, including preseason contests, in-season matchups and summer foreign tours. That ledger features a 65-11 domestic mark that is carried by a 62-9 record in Knoxville.
Tennessee is on a 25-game exhibition winning streak, dating back to a 73-52 victory over Carson-Newman on Nov. 3, 2011. Under Barnes, the Volunteers are 15-0 in exhibitions, including 7-0 in Knoxville and 6-0 in Europe.
This is the third straight season Tennessee will play a Division I team in an exhibition game—it is the first one that will be home—after never previously doing so. The Volunteers defeated second-ranked Gonzaga, 99-80, on Oct. 28, 2022, in the Legends of Basketball Classic in Frisco, Texas. Last year, they knocked off fourth-ranked Michigan State, 89-88, on Oct. 29, 2023, in East Lansing, Mich.
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.
