By: Cole Livengood | WV Sports Chat
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Back in April of 2021, the Charlotte Sports Foundation announced that West Virginia and Tennessee would meet in the 2028 edition of the Duke’s Mayo Classic. These teams met previously in Charlotte for the Belk College Kickoff back in 2018. Will Grier and company handled the Volunteers soundly in a 40-14 win.
In a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request sent to West Virginia University, WVSportsChat.com was able to obtain a copy of the agreement signed by both schools and the event organizer, Charlotte Sports Events (CSE).
Per the agreement, the game will be played on September 2nd, 2028 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. West Virginia has been designated as the home team for this contest. Since the Big 12 conference holds media rights deals with ESPN, FOX, and TNT Sports, they will be able to select the kickoff time and network this game will be aired on.
West Virginia and Tennessee will be guaranteed the greater of $2,500,000, or 45% of the net revenue for the contest. Charlotte Sports Events projects 61,977 tickets will be sold for the game, which would net an expected payout of $3,282,746 to each university. If Bank of America Stadium is sold out, however (74,692), this payout would rise to $3,835,988.
Should either team be placed on probation by their member conference or the NCAA, Charlotte Sports Events has the right to renegotiate the payout of said team within 90 days of the announcement. The officiating crew for the game will not contain any Big 12 or SEC officials, rather both teams agreed if available, to use a crew from the Big 10 conference.
Both WVU and Tennessee agreed to purchase 17,500 tickets to distribute on their respective ticket platforms. Charlotte Sports Events will not release discounted tickets until after June 1st, 2028 in order to not compete with both schools priority sales programs.
Either team may buyout of the contest at the cost of $500,000 until September 1st, 2027. Anytime after, the fee increases to $2,000,000. The fee would be split between the non-canceling school and Charlotte Sports Events.
