March 25, 2015
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt and Stanford will play a four-game football series starting in 2021, athletic officials from both schools jointly announced Wednesday.
The Commodores will host the first game in the home-and-home series with Stanford on Sept. 18, 2021. Other dates in the series are Sept. 7, 2024 at Stanford, Sept. 6, 2025 at Vanderbilt, and Sept. 11, 2027 at Stanford.
The 2021 game will be the first ever between Vanderbilt and Stanford in football. The schools have competed in several other sports, most recently a National Invitation Tournament men’s basketball game held Tuesday on the Stanford campus.
Vanderbilt Athletics Director David Williams II said playing schools like Stanford makes sense for the Commodores.
“We have been working to put this series together for quite some time,” Williams said. “This game is a natural because Stanford is also an academic institution playing football in a strong conference.
“We have had good competition with Stanford in various other sports so it makes sense to meet in football too. Playing Stanford also increases Vanderbilt’s exposure on the West Coast where we recruit student-athletes and have many alumni,” Williams added.
Williams said the Stanford series is the first of several new future opponent agreements that Vanderbilt will announce in coming weeks.
Vanderbilt has minimal experience against Pac-12 opponents and teams from California. Vanderbilt’s only previous game against a Pac-12 team came on Oct. 14, 1961 when the Commodores lost 28-21 to nationally ranked UCLA in the Los Angeles Coliseum.
In recent years, Stanford has enjoyed some of its greatest football success. Stanford is 54-13 since 2010, and is one of five Power 5 schools with 11 or more wins in four of the last five seasons. In 2014, the Cardinal ended an 8-5 campaign with a 45-21 victory against Maryland in the Foster Farms Bowl. It marked the program’s school-record sixth consecutive bowl appearance.
Vanderbilt Head Coach Derek Mason coached at Stanford prior to accepting the Commodore post in January 2014. As a defensive backs coach in 2010, defensive coordinator in 2011-12, and Willie Shaw Director of Defense in 2013, Mason helped Stanford to a 46-8 overall record, two Pac-12 titles, two Rose Bowls, and Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl appearances.
Vanderbilt’s 2015 season begins Sept. 5 at home vs. Western Kentucky. Other home games include Georgia, Sept. 12; Austin Peay, Sept. 9; Missouri, Oct. 24; Kentucky, Nov. 14; and Texas A&M, Nov. 21.
Vanderbilt season tickets are available online at vucommodores.com, by phone at (615) 322-GOLD (4653), or in person at the Athletic Box Office, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville.
