2027 Vegas Kickoff Classic to Feature Historic First Meeting Between Utah and Miami

July 8, 2024 by Staff, ESPN PR

Utah, which ended its 2023 season with a 14-7 loss to Northwestern in the Las Vegas Bowl, will be headed back to Las Vegas for the 2027 Vegas Kickoff Classic at Allegiant Stadium where the Utes will face Miami on Labor Day weekend.

Game date, time and network will be announced at a later date.

It will be the third Vegas Kickoff Classic. Arizona faced BYU in 2021, and USC will battle LSU this season on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 4:30 p.m. PT (7:30 p.m. ET) on ABC.

“One of the great things about college football is that there are still first-time matchups like this one to capture the attention of fans across the nation,” said John Saccenti, executive director of the Vegas Kickoff Classic and SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl. “We have a frequent visitor to our city in Utah playing a national brand like Miami for the first time ever at one of the world’s greatest football venues. The Battle of the ‘U’ -- the ‘U’ of the West against the ‘U’ of the South facing each other in the Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World -- and we cannot wait.”

The Vegas Kickoff Classic is owned and operated by ESPN.

Utah is one of ten teams that left the PAC-12 and joined either the ACC, the Big 12 or the B1G this year. Utah joined Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado in the Big 12, while UCLA, USC, Washington and Oregon fled to the B1G, and Stanford and Cal relocated to the ACC. Only Oregon State and Washington State were left behind, and those two teams will be eligible for any PAC-12 alliances with bowl games through 2025.

Utah was 8-5 over-all a year ago, and 5-4 in conference play. Miami was 7-6 over-all, and 3-5 in the ACC. The 'Canes have been given some pretty high marks from pundits entering the 2024 season, thanks to solid recruiting and portal transfers. The odds for Miami to win the ACC title are the 3rd-best of all 17 teams (+440) and only trail Clemson (+400) and Florida State (+270). The over-under for Miami's 2024 win total has been set at 9.5 games.

The over/under win total for the Utes has also been set at 9.5.

Mark Harlan, Director of Athletics, University of Utah
“This is a tremendous showcase for our football program and our university to open the 2027 season on a national stage in the Vegas Kickoff Classic. We are excited for this opportunity to match up against the Miami Hurricanes, and we extend our thanks to the Las Vegas Bowl and ESPN Events for the invitation. It is a testament to our program and our great fans to participate in this type of event, and when the time comes, we will paint Allegiant Stadium red once again.”

Dan Radakovich, Vice President/Director of Athletics, University of Miami:
“We are excited to kick off the 2027 season against Utah in the Vegas Kickoff Classic. It not only gives our program an opportunity to play a great non-conference opponent on a national stage, but also gives our fans the chance to cheer on the Hurricanes in a world-class venue at a destination location.”

Follow the Vegas Kickoff Classic and SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl on the web at www.lvbowl.com, and on social media at @LasVegasBowl (X), facebook.com/lvbowl, and on Instagram at @lvbowl.

About Allegiant Stadium
Located adjacent to the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and home to the Las Vegas Raiders, Allegiant Stadium is an award-winning global events destination. A state-of-the-art, multipurpose venue with a capacity of 65,000, Allegiant Stadium has hosted world-class music artists such as Garth Brooks, The Rolling Stones, Guns N’ Roses, Taylor Swift and BTS with more legendary concerts to come. The fully enclosed stadium is also home to the UNLV Rebels football team and has hosted premier sporting events such as the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final, Pac-12 Championship Game, Las Vegas Bowl, and WWE SummerSlam. The venue also hosted the NFL Pro Bowl in both 2022 and 2023, and has been selected to host Super Bowl LVIII in 2024. Allegiant Stadium is committed to giving back to the community through numerous diversity, inclusion, and community outreach initiatives. In addition, Allegiant Stadium is proud to be both LEED Gold certified and powered by 100% Nevada-sourced renewable energy, and is dedicated to implementing sustainable practices and programs. For more information on Allegiant Stadium, visit www.allegiantstadium.com or follow us at @allegiantstadm on X and @allegiantstadium on Instagram.

ESPN Events
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In 2024, the 34-event schedule includes four early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, the premiere regular season college softball and gymnastics events, as well as the Band of the Year National Championship. Collectively, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

Follow ESPN Events on Facebook, X and YouTube.