Memphis' 68th AutoZone Liberty Bowl is Saturday Jan. 2nd

ESPN Events announces 17-game college football bowl schedule for 2026-27 season

In Memphis, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl will be on Saturday, January 2nd, a primetime date For 68th Annual Game On ABC.

Memphis – The 68th Annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl Football Classic will be played Saturday, January 2, 2027 at 6:30 p.m. CST. With New Year’s Day on Friday, the Saturday evening January 2 date becomes a key part of the long holiday weekend. Fans can make their plans now to celebrate the New Year and enjoy the extended holiday weekend at the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. The game will feature teams from the SEC and Big 12 and will be played at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. ABC will televise the game nationally and ESPN Radio will have the national radio broadcast. “It is wonderful to be able to feature our bowl game on a Saturday primetime telecast on ABC,” said Steve Ehrhart, Executive Director of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. “We look forward to celebrating America’s 250th year anniversary with our patriotic pre-game and halftime festivities on Saturday, January 2, 2027 at 6:30 p.m. on ABC.” Tickets to the 68 th AutoZone Liberty Bowl are on sale now. The brandnew state-of-the-art suites and premium club seating are also available. For game and event ticket information, please call the AutoZone Liberty Bowl at (901) 795-7700 or visit www.AutoZoneLibertyBowl.org

• Cricket Celebration Bowl kicks off Bowl Season on Saturday, Dec. 12
• ESPN Events’ 2026-27 schedule will feature 10 FBS and two FCS conferences and four early-season kickoff games
• Inaugural Liberty Mutual Music City Kickoff debuts Sept. 6 in Week 1 ACC-SEC early-season matchup

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, has unveiled its schedule of 17 owned-and-operated bowl games for the 2026-27 college football postseason, which will feature 10 FBS conferences and two FCS conferences.

Bowl Season will begin Saturday, Dec. 12, with ESPN Events’ 11th edition of the Cricket Celebration Bowl (noon ET, ABC) as the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) face off in the National Championship for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Following a pair of thrilling shootouts last season, the 21st annual Isleta New Mexico Bowl (2:30 p.m., ESPN) and the 23rd annual Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl (7 p.m., ESPN) return for a Christmas Eve bowl doubleheader on Dec. 24.

Celebrating a milestone 20 years, the JLab Birmingham Bowl (2 p.m., ESPN) returns to Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Ala., on Dec. 29 featuring teams from the Southeastern Conference, American Conference or Atlantic Coast Conference.

On Dec. 31, a New Year’s Eve doubleheader kicks off with the Las Vegas Bowl (3:45 p.m., ESPN), returning to Allegiant Stadium as it celebrates 35 years, followed by the Kinder’s Texas Bowl (7:30 p.m., ESPN), returning to Reliant Stadium in Houston to help ring in the New Year.

The ESPN Events bowl schedule concludes on Jan. 2 with the 17^th edition of the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (3:30 p.m., ABC) returning to Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas. This marks the second time in three seasons the bowl has been played in the new calendar year.

ESPN Events Kickoff Games

Last week, ESPN announced its early-season schedule, which included four ESPN Events kickoff games, featuring the FCS Kickoff (7 p.m., ESPN) – East Texas A&M vs. Mercer in ESPN's first primetime college football telecast of the ‘26 season – from Macon, Ga., on Saturday, Aug. 29. That same night, the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff takes center stage in Atlanta as Alabama A&M faces Howard in primetime (7:30 p.m., ABC). On Sunday, Aug. 30, ESPN Events’ Red Tails Classic (8 p.m., ESPN2) will feature a matchup between West Alabama and Tuskegee from Montgomery, Ala., continuing to celebrate the tradition, legacy and values of HBCUs as part of ESPN’s season-long commitment to HBCU football.

During Labor Day Weekend and Week 1 of the college football season, the inaugural Liberty Mutual Music City Kickoff in Nashville features a marquee ACC-SEC matchup between ESPN.com's Way-Too-Early Top 25 teams No. 21 Louisville and No. 9 Ole Miss on Sunday, Sept. 6, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Schedules are subject to change. Please continue to check @ESPNPR and ESPN Press Room for more information. Additional scheduling details, including commentator assignments for each bowl game, will be announced following bowl selections in December.

2026-27 ESPN Events College Football Bowl Schedule:

2026 ESPN Events College Football Kickoff Games: