Why Memphis football and Tulane play on Thanksgiving Day

On By Littum

There will be a college football game on Thanksgiving Day — just not the one most fans are used to.

Memphis (9-2, 5-2 AAC) and Tulane (9-2, 7-0) meet in New Orleans on Thursday (6:30 p.m. CT, ESPN) in the only college football game of the day. It’s a big opportunity for the two teams and for the AAC, which normally doesn’t get the Thanksgiving berth, but this time will get to showcase two of the top teams in the conference.

Tulane heads to the Dec. 6 AAC title game against Army (9-1, 7-0); Memphis, which fell short of its AAC championship and College Football Playoff hopes, is trying to finish its regular season with 10 wins.

So why is this game taking place on Thanksgiving?

Memphis vs Tulane gets Thanksgiving slot after Egg Bowl moves to Friday

The egg bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State usually take place on Thanksgiving, but the SEC decided to move the game to Friday (2:30 p.m. CT, ABC) this year. That opened up a slot on ESPN, and the network decided to fill it with an AAC game.

Conference officials decided to place Tulane vs. Memphis there. It was coincidental as Memphis was picked to finish first in the preseason poll and Tulane third.

“It’s a great television window on a day where everyone is watching football together,” AAC Commissioner Tim Pernetti said. “It’s kind of become the fabric of Thanksgiving for 100 years, where football is part of the day.”

The decision to put the game on Thanksgiving was made before the schedules came out in February, and Pernetti didn’t take over as AAC commissioner until June. Still, he said he’s excited about the game and the exposure it will bring to the conference.

There are no assurances about what will happen next year, but it may be open to discussion.

“I’m excited because I think it’s a great showcase,” Pernetti said. “We have two great teams in our league, both with nine wins, playing in this game. So I think it’s a great showcase. I think it will be successful from a viewing perspective and if it is, We continue to have discussions about doing this.”

Reach sportswriter Jonah Dylan at [email protected] or at X @thejonahdylan.