2008 schedule includes UCLA, N.C. State

The Wolfpack will make their first appearance in Knoxville in the season-opener on Aug. 30.

The Vols will travel to UCLA on Sept. 6 to renew a cross-country rivalry that last convened in 1997. UT leads the series 7-4-2.

San Jose State and Wyoming are the other two non-conference games.

The first meeting between UT and the Spartans of the Western Athletic Conference will take place at Neyland Stadium on Oct. 4. San Jose State was 4-7 in 2005, its first season under coach Dick Tomey.

Wyoming returns to Neyland Stadium on Nov. 8. The Vols have beaten the Cowboys in Knoxville (1999) and Nashville (2002).

Auburn also will return to the slate in the SEC rotation, joining Alabama and Mississippi State from the Western Division. UT will play Florida and Auburn on consecutive weeks for the first time since 1991.

The only open date falls between UCLA and Florida.

There has been some speculation originating on North Carolina State’s end that the scheduled opener could be moved to a later year in order for the Wolfpack to play a TV game with South Carolina in 2008.

Lee Fowler, N.C. State athletic director, acknowledged that possibility last month but said for now the visit to Knoxville stands for 2008.

"There is a rumor,’’ said Bud Ford, UT associate athletics director, "but as far as we know, that game is on.’’

2007 Slot Filled: UT confirmed a report last month that Louisiana-Lafayette has been added to the 2007 schedule to replace Central Florida.

Central Florida opted to buy out of a Sept. 29 game in Knoxville for $10,000 in order to add a Conference USA game after joining that league.

Louisiana-Lafayette will instead visit on Nov. 3. The shuffle keeps the home games at seven, but moves the open date from November to Sept. 29, the week before Georgia visits.

Tennessee won its only prior meeting with ULL, 38-3 in 1992.

2006 Game Times: Two more kickoff times for the home games in the 2006 season are released. Air Force will start at 7 p.m. on Sept. 9 and Marshall at 4 p.m. on Sept. 23.

Both games will be pay-per-view telecasts.

Ford said there is an outside possibility one of the games could be moved to network. Fox Sports Net has an option to do some early-season SEC games but the conference has not announced which ones.