West Virginia Officially Accepts AutoZone Liberty Bowl Invitation

The West Virginia University Mountaineers and the University of Tennessee Volunteers officially accepted the AutoZone Liberty Bowl invitation on Sunday night from Executive Director at AutoZone Liberty Bowl Steve Ehrhart.

“I want to say congratulations to coach Brown and our entire coaching staff on receiving the AutoZone Liberty Bowl bid after a very difficult season and dealing with COVID19 issues, said West Virginia Director of Athletics Shane Lyons. “It’s been a season that will be unforgettable as we move forward, and there was a lot of issues that our student-athletes had to face this year, and it’s a great opportunity for them and really happy for our seniors and our entire program to be able to play one more game, and it will be exciting to play in the rich history of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.”

Then, West Virginia head coach Neal Brown accepted the invitation.

"On behalf of our players and staff, we are very excited to accept the bowl invitation to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl,” he said. “I look forward to getting to Memphis and not only playing in a bowl that has a ton of tradition. A game that I grew up watching and appreciating but also playing a tradition-rich team like Tennessee, and I know several guys on that staff and really respect the job that they do. And we’re going to make sure this is a rewarding experience. Heard great things about the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on how they take care of the teams and the fans.”

“We’ve only played one game since November 21st, so our guys are excited to get back,” added Brown.

“We’ll use this week to, kind of, get back in the flow and then start preparations for Tennessee. We’re a group that’s excited to get into the postseason and ready to play football and very appreciative of the opportunity.”

A handful of programs from around the country have opted not to play in the postseason, a few citing fatigue, but West Virginia is looking forward to the Opportunity.

“We got a really young football team, and our guys are excited about it,” said Brown. “Unfortunately, for our seniors also, they didn’t have a traditional senior day due to the Oklahoma game getting canceled twice, and so, we’re using this game as a way to salute our Seniors… those that are leaving.”

The Volunteers ended the regular season at 3-7, with all seven of their losses coming in the final eight games.

The Mountaineers only meeting versus the Volunteers came in the 2018 season opener, also in a neutral setting, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., where West Virginia rolled Tennessee 41-14.

West Virginia and Tennessee will meet on December 31 inside Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium at 4:00 pm EST on ESPN.

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