Ole Miss Fans Mourn Loss Of The 'Grandest Rivalry Of All Time'

Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart eyes the Vanderbilt defense.

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The SEC will undergo some change in the coming seasons as they introduce new members Texas and Oklahoma. With the upcoming additions, scheduling around the league has become a hot topic.

The conference opted to stay at an eight-game schedule, with the 2024 slate being revealed on Wednesday. Ole Miss fans are now mourning the loss of an annual opponent.

While the league attempted to preserve traditional rivalries, it wasn’t able to satisfy everyone. South Carolina fans, for example, are upset that they won’t play Georgia, Tennessee, or Florida in that ’24 season.

The SEC did its best to please everyone, taking both competitive balance and historical matchups into account, but there were yearly series that inevitably wouldn’t survive.

One of those is Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.

The Rebels and Commodores have met a total of 95 times on the football field. While it’s not necessarily an SEC rivalry that’s top of mind, they’ve played every season since 1970.

And the series is surprisingly even, with OM leading 53-40-2.

The Commodores won the first 19 games before the Rebels stormed back with a 23-1-1 run between 1953 and 1980. Ole Miss holds a 10-8 advantage against Vandy since 2005.

But for now, it’s been put on pause. When the SEC dropped its ’24 schedules, the matchup was nowhere to be found. That prompted Ole Miss to post a video bidding farewell to the Commodores on social media.

END OF AN ERA @VandyFootball pic.twitter.com/UVEMtSSEwN

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) June 15, 2023

Many in the comments section are mourning the loss of the longtime rivalry.

One person said, “I’m speechless,” while another posted, “I shed a tear.”

This football fan wrote, “Vandy-Ole Miss is one of the more underappreciated “rivalries” in the south. For some odd reason, this series never disappointed.”