Vanderbilt and Austin Peay will face off in football for the first time ever in the 2013 season opener.

The game will be played Aug. 31 at Vanderbilt, according to a joint announcement by athletics administrators from both universities today.

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“I am extremely pleased to join Austin Peay Athletics Director Dave Loos in announcing the first ever football meeting between the Governors and Commodores,” Vanderbilt vice chancellor of university affairs and athletics David Williams said. “We believe followers of both schools, and fans of college football across the region, will be excited about this game.

“We hold a long-standing tradition of athletic competition with Austin Peay in other sports, including basketball and baseball. Because of that, I think both universities were eager to start a football tradition.”

The announcement continues a Vanderbilt push to play more non-SEC games of regional importance. Since 2003, the Commodores have hosted games against three teams located within a two-hour drive of Nashville: Chattanooga, MTSU and Tennessee State. Vanderbilt and MTSU are scheduled for three more games between 2015 and 2018.

“It really makes sense for both parties,” Williams said. “It provides opposing fans with a close road trip to support their team and it creates more local college football talk and interest. The short travel also can add a budgetary benefit for the visiting school.”

In 2009, Austin Peay went 4-7 under Coach Rick Christophel, who spent five years as a Vanderbilt assistant coach under Watson Brown from 1986-90. The one-time Commodore defensive coordinator and assistant head coach also mentored APSU to a 7-4 mark in 2007, his initial year at the helm of the program.

Vanderbilt will face its fourth football opponent from the Ohio Valley Conference when it plays Austin Peay. The Commodores are 12-0-1 all-time against OVC teams: 10-0-1 vs. Tennessee Tech, 1-0 vs. TSU and 1-0 vs. Eastern Kentucky.

By The Tennessean
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100525/SPORTS0602/100525061/-1/nsitemapXML/Vanderbilt-to-play-Austin-Peay-in-football-in-2013