The Ball State football team has added another SEC matchup to its future schedule — and another big boost to the athletic budget.
Ball State Sports announced via Twitter on Aug. 30 that the Cardinals will make a trip to Neyland Stadium to play the Tennessee Volunteers in the season opener on Sept. 3, 2022. Tennessee will pay Ball State $1.5 million to play in the game, according to the guarantee contract provided with the Tennessee Athletics press release.
This is called a "guarantee game," where mid-major schools like Ball State are paid to play Power 5 Conference schools in games they are assumed to lose.