Are you ready for some football?

Tennessee apparently is.

The Vols and UCLA have agreed to move their game to Labor Day — Sept. 1, a primetime slot that will be filled by the NFL’s Monday Night Football a week later. The game was scheduled for Sept. 6. ESPN will televise the game nationally, which will kickoff at 8 o’clock EDT.

“The opportunity to play unopposed on national television against such a quality opponent as UCLA was something we couldn’t pass up,” UT athletic director Mike Hamilton said in a prepared statement Tuesday. “It’s a great time slot for a national game of interest like this one.”

UT coach Phillip Fulmer agreed, especially since exposure helps recruiting.

“Basically, all of America that’s interested in sports will be tuning in at some point,” Fulmer said.

The Vols will move their game against UAB to Sept. 13, originally an open date. UAB had been set as the season opener to be played Aug. 30. The Vols play Florida on Sept. 20, the week after the UAB game. Before Tuesday, UT had an open date before the Florida game.

Hamilton said he consulted with Fulmer before pursuing the change.

“I kind of left that up to Phillip and he didn’t have problem with it,” Hamilton said. “From the outset, he was very comfortable with the change.”

Fulmer said he was never concerned about losing the open date before hosting the Gators.

“That open date has probably helped at times and hurt at times,” Fulmer said. “Every year has its own chemistry.”

In other words, if UT is playing well in September, Fulmer would prefer not having an open date. However, if UT suffers any significant injuries, an open date before Florida would be a Godsend.

“I don’t have a crystal ball to know,” Fulmer said.

Fulmer doesn’t need a crystal ball to know he’ll be breaking in a new quarterback this season. Instead of doing so against a Conference-USA opponent at home, UT will begin the Jonathan Crompton era three time zones, away against a Pac-10 foe.

“I don’t think a lot of things bother Jonathan,” Fulmer said. “He’s played enough football. I’m not concerned about it. We have an experienced enough football team.”

Crompton has played in 14 games, starting one, a loss against Arkansas in 2006. The junior didn’t seem at all bothered by the change in venue.

“Everybody says, ‘I want to play in the Rose Bowl.’” Crompton said. “We’re getting a chance to go there and we expect to go there and do well.”

As for not having an off-week before Florida, Crompton said, “We’re not going to have an off-week before we play Georgia or Alabama. It’s no different.”

UCLA was scheduled to open with Fresno State on Aug.30. That contest will be moved to Sept.27.

“We are excited to be facing Tennessee in our opener,” first-year UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said in a statement. “I couldn’t think of a better way to begin my coaching career at UCLA than by playing one of the top programs in the nation on Labor Day evening.”

Hamilton said there was no financial incentive for UT to move the game. Before the schedule change, television executives told the Vols that ABC would carry the UCLA game regionally. Hamilton said a regional ABC game pays the same as a nationally televised ESPN game.

“There’s no difference in dollars,” Hamilton said, “just a difference in exposure.”

UT leads the series against the Bruins 7-4-2, having won four of the last five dating to 1989. Two of those wins were in Pasadena, including a 30-24 victory behind senior QB Peyton Manning in 1997’s most recent matchup.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.