Memphis football and Ole Miss haven't played each other since 2019. And it doesn't sound like they will anytime soon.
"Not currently," Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said on Sept. 14, when asked if there had been any recent discussions about future games with Memphis. "Our schedule is pretty solid for the next few years out. Being regional and being close, it's certainly something that we may look at in the future. But we don't have any plans for that in the immediate future."
The teams have met 63 times, but the last one was a Memphis win at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in 2019. In the past, the Tigers would play at least one power conference team every season. But that has become extremely difficult because of changes across the sport,
and they don't have a power conference opponent on the schedule for 2026 or 2027.
Chief among those changes is the SEC's move to nine conference games, which means one less spot to schedule a nonconference opponent.
"It just depends," Carter said. "The way scheduling goes now with nine conference games, you're trying to figure out what this new model is going to look like moving forward. Obviously we've had some games in the past, and could in the future. But not right now and not in the immediate future."
Memphis recently lost a game with Mississippi State that was planned for 2028. That agreement was supposed to be a home-and-home, but Mississippi State canceled the 2028 game scheduled for Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium and moved a planned 2029 game to 2034 in Starkville. Memphis has two games planned against Arkansas in 2028 and 2030 and no other power conference games scheduled.
Instead, the Tigers have had to get creative and try to schedule other top teams in the Group of Six. They played at UNLV and at Boise State this season, and both will visit Memphis in the future. The Tigers also have a home-and-home set to start in 2027 against Toledo.
Carter acknowledged that the move to nine conference games affected the way teams schedule, but he said he supports it and also said he wants to see College Football Playoff expansion.
"It has thrown a curveball a little bit, in terms of things we're doing," Carter said. "I'm excited about it. I do hope that we can expand the playoff and give more opportunity, more entry points for SEC teams after going to the nine games. I think that was kind of the thought process when we did that. So I anticipate that happening in the future. But I think it's good for the players. It's good for the fans."
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ole Miss AD says no plans to schedule Memphis football 'in the immediate future'
