Calkins: Ed Scott promised to fix the problems at the Liberty Bowl. I bought a ticket to see if it worked.
Geoff Calkins (second from left) during the game between the Memphis Tigers and UT Martin Skyhawks at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Sept. 19, 2026. (Wes Hale/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Geoff Calkins
Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.
Nearly an hour before the game started, Gib Wilson had a complaint.
“We got here way too fast, parking was way too easy,” he said. “Now we have to sit in the heat.”
He was kidding about the complaint.
But two weeks after the University of Memphis apologized for the long lines and general chaos that characterized the first game at the new Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, the school bounced back with performance that didn’t leave a lot to criticize.
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Memphis Tigers Football Ed Scott Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Geoff Calkins Subscriber OnlyThank you for reading The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
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