Ole Miss is slated to open 2014 at two NFL stadiums, including the Chick-fil-A Kickoff on Thursday, Aug. 30 vs. Boise State on ESPN, the first time the Rebels will have ever played in the Georgia Dome.
Ole Miss football wants to prove it’s a big ticket for Atlanta and beyond
Can Ole Miss capitalize on two early season NFL stadium games, both on and off the field?
That kind of exposure is largely foreign to the Rebels. They’re the only SEC West team to never play in the championship game, and one of only three teams in the league (Vandy and Kentucky being the others) to have never played a game in Atlanta.
Atlanta is a key recruiting ground inside the league -- it's where the Rebels landed No. 1 overall prospect Robert Nkemdiche in 2013 -- and why the ticket-buying power of Rebels and fans and the outcome of this year's opener are so much more important for Ole Miss than going 1-0.
Hotty Toddy
Hotty Toddy
“I think opening up in the Chick‑fil‑A game in Atlanta,” head coach Hugh Freeze said Thursday, “where we recruit extremely hard, playing in the Georgia Dome, where every SEC team wants to end their season, I think it’s very important. We get to open college football. All eyes will be on you on that Thursday night against a very good Boise program.”
"We know how big of an opportunity that can be for us to get people talking about us across the nation," quarterback Bo Wallace said. "It's great to be playing on ESPN with that audience to show people what we want to do."
The Rebels then head to Nashville, where Vanderbilt has opted to move its annual game against Ole Miss three miles east to LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans. The move was long opposed by former head coach James Franklin, who wanted to preserve Vandy’s weak homefield advantage in conference games. Now Ole Miss has an opportunity to outsell Commodore fans in their own city. The Rebels sold well over two-thirds of the tickets in their Music City Bowl win over Georgia Tech last December.
“Nashville’s been good to us. I think we can get more Rebels in that stadium, and we’re excited to be back in Nashville,” Freeze said.
Tickets for both games are still on sale, and officials will be closely monitoring the Rebels’ ability to create the kind of financial presence that neutral-site stalwarts Alabama and LSU have in cities like Atlanta and Houston.
“We’re excited and hopefully embrace that opportunity and the magnitude it will have on expanding our brand nationally. You certainly know that could help. Hopefully we get a chance to embrace that opportunity and make the most of it,” Freeze said.
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