When the Tennessee Lady Vols take the field at Ridley Sports Complex on April 13, 2027, it will mark the 12th year Columbia has hosted a piece of SEC softball, and this time around, the matchup carries a distinctly Middle Tennessee flavor.
Tennessee will face Belmont University in the Midstate Classic, the second straight year the Lady Vols have squared off against a Middle Tennessee-based program at the event, having beaten Austin Peay the season before. What started as a single road trip for a Power Five program has become something closer to a fixture on the softball calendar, and it says as much about Columbia as it does about Tennessee's schedule.
Ridley Sports Complex was not built with SEC softball in mind, but a decade-plus of hosting has turned it into exactly that kind of venue in the eyes of the coaches who bring their teams here. Belmont head coach Laura Matthews put it plainly ahead of next year's matchup. "We are so excited to head to Columbia to face Tennessee," she said. "It's a unique experience, and we are excited to compete in front of a community who has really gotten behind softball."
Tennessee head coach Karen Weekly echoed that sentiment, saying her program is looking forward to returning to Columbia for what has become an annual homecoming of sorts, even though the Lady Vols call Knoxville home.
The economic case for events like this is straightforward: a marquee college matchup pulls fans, alumni, and traveling teams into Maury County for a weekend, filling hotel rooms and restaurant seats in a town that does not otherwise see SEC-level sports on its home turf. Twelve years in, the Midstate Classic has stopped being a novelty and started being an expectation, one more thing Columbia does well every spring.
Tickets for the 2027 Midstate Classic go on sale in January.
Sources: WSMV. Yahoo Sports. City of Columbia. University of Tennessee Athletics.