KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team will host Xavier in an exhibition affair slated for Oct. 15, as announced Friday morning.
The game time and television network for the Musketeers’ visit to Food City Center will be determined a later point.
The contest will be the first of two exhibition matchups for Tennessee in advance of the 2026-27 campaign. As revealed July 29, the Volunteers will play an exhibition contest Oct. 20 at Duke.
The game will not be part of Tennessee’s season ticket package. Season ticket holders, starting Aug. 20, will have the first opportunity to purchase their current seat locations. Upper-level pricing will start at $10 and lower-level pricing will begin at $20. Email communication from Tennessee Athletics will go out that day with details. The deadline for season ticket holders to purchase their current seat locations is Sept. 10 at 5 p.m.
Donor presales will take place Sept. 15-16 at 10 a.m. and those eligible will receive email communication from Tennessee Athletics prior to those dates, while general public ticket sales will open Sept. 17 at 10 a.m. Upper-level pricing begins at $15 and lower-level pricing starts at $25.
Parking information will be provided at a later point. In addition, tickets will be free for Tennessee students, with the claim period slated to start Oct. 5 at 7:30 a.m.
This will be the third consecutive year Tennessee hosts a Division I foe in an exhibition game at Food City Center, after never before doing so. It played Indiana in 2024-25 and Duke in 2025-26.
Additionally, this will be the first time the Volunteers play an exhibition game both at home and on the road.
Tennessee is 12-5 in regular season games against the Musketeers, including 7-1 on its home court. The Volunteers are 12-3 in the last 15 matchups, including 5-1 in the past six.
The sides last met on Nov. 29, 2013, in Paradise Island, Bahamas, with Tennessee notching a 64-49 triumph in the Battle 4 Atlantis. The most recent clash in Knoxville came on Dec. 29, 2012, when the Volunteers registered a 51-47 decision.
Tennessee is 87-20 all-time in exhibition games, including 65-13 in the United States, 62-11 in Knoxville and 28-3 against American colleges. It is 25-2 in its last 27 exhibition affairs, including 15-2 under head coach Rick Barnes.
The Volunteers are playing a Division I opponent in an exhibition contest for the fifth consecutive year. They had never done so prior to this stretch.
