Southwest Airlines had college football fans in mind when they added extra services and launched new routes for flights in September and October. All of which are centered around six marquee matchups ahead of the highly anticipated 2024 college football season.
Conference realignment has changed the geography of college football, as some fans will have the opportunity to now travel to new destinations for the first time for high-stakes conference matchups. Highlighted by Tennessee visiting Oklahoma in Week 4 in the Sooners’ SEC debut as new members of the conference.
With that in mind, Southwest has added extra service for Volunteers fans for flights between Nashville and Oklahoma City for the weekend of the game. Adding service for flights on September 20 and 22 between Saturday’s game on September 21 in Norman, Oklahoma.
Southwest has also added service to flights between New Orleans and Las Vegas for LSU‘s Week 1 matchup against USC and flights between Atlanta and Austin for Georgia‘s matchup against Texas in October. Additionally adding new flights between Austin and Detroit, Birmingham and Milwaukee, and Columbus and Portland for games between Texas and Michigan, Alabama and Wisconsin, and Ohio State versus Oregon.
Tennessee and Oklahoma’s Week 4 matchup is historic, marking the first conference matchup involving the SEC’s newest members with Texas joining the Sooners in the conference this upcoming season as well.
Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables enters his third season at the helm for the Sooners and his first ever as a coach in the SEC. Fresh off of improving the team’s record to 10-3 last season. And ahead of his debut season in the conference that many regard as the most competitive in college football, he is not taking things lightly.
“I recognize that the challenge is real, but it’s always winning and being successful and having longevity, consistency, stability, continuity, those are all hard things to hold on to. So this is a league that’s a very unforgiving league,” Venables said at SEC Spring Meetings.
Jackson Arnold will be under center for the Sooners, a sophomore quarterback who received his first career-start in Oklahoma’s bowl game last season. The same exact scenario that Tennessee is in with Nico Iamaleava taking over the reins of the offense ahead of his second year with the program.
“He’s unique in his frame and skillset,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. “His ability to move, extend, make plays off schedule, thrown from different arm angles. His experience in the bowl game. He played extremely well, but I think it was a huge part of his urgency since he got back into the building in January. Continued to grow, change his frame, add muscle to it. Had a great spring.”
Heupel also notably played quarterback for the Sooners in his college playing days. Adding yet another fascinating storyline to an exciting matchup where Tennessee fans will now be able to make their presence even more felt in September thanks to Southwest.
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