Memphis–Ole Miss football rivalry

As of 2019, Ole Miss is tied as Memphis's most frequent opponent, and Memphis is Ole Miss's most common non-conference opponent.[4][5] The two schools, separated by around 80 miles,[6] first met in 1921, with Ole Miss winning the first 17 games.[2] The 1963 game had a scoreless tie, and Memphis won its first game in the series in 1967.[2] From 1962 to 1995, the series was played annually except 1975 in Oxford; Memphis; and Jackson, Mississippi.[4]

On October 17, 2015, Memphis upset no. 13 Ole Miss 37–24.[7] It was the first time the Tigers defeated the Rebels since 2004 and first win over a ranked opponent since 1996.[8] Memphis was Ole Miss's homecoming opponent on October 1, 2016, and no. 16 Ole Miss won 48–28.[9] However, in early 2019, Ole Miss vacated 33 wins from the 2010 to 2016 seasons, including the 2014 and 2016 wins over Memphis, due to NCAA violations.[10]

With the 63rd meeting between Memphis and Ole Miss on August 31, 2019, a 15–10 Memphis win in Memphis, Ole Miss became tied with Southern Miss as Memphis's most frequent opponent.[5][11]

It is disputed if this series can be considered a traditional rivalry. As early as 1994, The Commercial Appeal in Memphis referred to the Memphis–Ole Miss football series as a "Mid-South rivalry."[12] In later years, "Mid-South rivalry" began to be used by the Memphis and Ole Miss athletic departments as well as media outlets like SB Nation.[2][3][13]

Prior to the 2019 football game, former Ole Miss receiver A.J. Brown tweeted that the series was "not a rivalry," and Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral answered "no" when asked by a reporter if he considered Ole Miss and Memphis to be rivals.[14]

As of 2019, there is no future scheduled game between Memphis and Ole Miss, but Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke expressed that he is open to playing Memphis in the future.[14]

In contrast to Ole Miss dominating the football series, Memphis has a 27–14 lead over Ole Miss in men's basketball as of 2020 in a series dating back to 1922.[15][16] Most recently, no. 16 Memphis defeated Ole Miss 87–86 in Memphis on November 23, 2019.[16]

Ole Miss women's basketball has a 33–13 series lead over Memphis in a series that was played from 1972 to 2009. Ole Miss has a four-game winning streak in the series, most recently winning 73–72 at Memphis on December 18, 2009.[17][18]

In women's volleyball, Memphis and Ole Miss had at least one meeting per season from 1993 to 2007 but met only twice since 2008.[19] Ole Miss has a narrow 36–33 series lead over Memphis; the most recent game was a 3–2 Memphis win in Oxford on September 11, 2018, the first Memphis win at Ole Miss since 1995.[19][13]

Ole Miss leads the baseball series over Memphis 60–39 as of 2020.[20]

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games