SEC and ESPN Announce Early Season Kickoff Times With a Noon Kick For UTC at Kentucky

After a year without non-conference action, SEC Network starts the 2021 season in primetime on Thursday, Sept. 2, as Tennessee hosts Bowling Green at 8 p.m. ET in Neyland Stadium. SECN’s season opener is one of 35 matchups featuring Southeastern Conference squads across ESPN networks in the first three weeks of the season, including 10 televised on SEC Network.

As part of the SEC’s new agreement with ESPN, select SEC football games will be available on ESPN+ beginning this fall. ESPN+ has the right to stream one non-conference football game per school each season kicking off in 2021. These matchups will also be simulcast on SEC Network+, with both streams accessible in the ESPN App via connected devices.

Four matchups are set for Week 1 action, including Akron-Auburn, Rice-Arkansas, Eastern Illinois-South Carolina and East Tennessee State-Vanderbilt. SEC squads featured on ESPN+ in the second and third weeks of the season include Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss and Tennessee, with additional games to be determined over the remainder of the season

SEC Saturday Night Preps for Primetime with Trio of Top Games
SEC Network’s signature primetime college football franchise, SEC Saturday Night, heats up under the stadium lights with an early season SEC showdown between Missouri and Kentucky (Saturday, Sept. 11 | 7:30 p.m.) in Week 2 and an all-Florida feature with FAU traveling to Gainesville to take on Florida in Week 1 (Saturday, Sept. 4 | 7:30 p.m.). Week 3 sees the LSU Tigers taking on Central Michigan on Saturday, Sept 18 at 7:30 p.m.

SEC Squads Battle in Blockbuster Week 1 Matchups
As previously announced, ABC’s Labor Day Weekend coverage includes the much-anticipated Duke’s Mayo Classic in Charlotte featuring Georgia vs. Clemson on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 7:30 p.m. Earlier that day, defending National Champion Alabama faces Miami in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta at 3:30 p.m. In addition to Saturday’s Crimson Tide-Hurricanes game, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will also play host to a second Chick-fil-A Kickoff showdown with Louisville and Ole Miss meeting up on Labor Day Monday (Sept. 6) at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Additional scheduling details, including talent assignments for each matchup, will be announced later this summer. For complete details on ESPN’s overall football schedule for the first three weeks of the season, please visit ESPNPressRoom.com.

ESPN NETWORKS – EARLY SEASON SEC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE