Tennessee fans can reserve a trip to Florida this New Year.

No. 23 Tennessee officially announced Sunday evening that it accepted an invitation to play No. 13 Northwestern in the 30th annual Outback Bowl in Tampa on Jan. 1 (TV: ESPN, noon).

“We are extremely excited about the opportunity to be selected to play in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day,” Tennessee Athletics Director Dave Hart said in a statement. “I hope our fans are energized and as excited about this announcement as our team is.  We have the most loyal fan base in the country and there’s no doubt we will have plenty of Tennessee orange in Tampa.  The Outback Bowl has a long, storied history of exciting games and Jim McVay and the Tampa Bay Bowl Association do a great job hosting the event each year.  

“Butch Jones has our football program moving in the right direction, and playing in back-to-back New Year’s bowl games in Florida is further verification of the progress that is being made.   This team has shown steady improvement throughout the season and we are looking forward to the challenge of playing another team ranked in the Top 15 in Northwestern.”

It will be the Vols’ fourth appearance in the Outback Bowl. Tennessee defeated Wisconsin 21-17 in its last appearance on Jan. 1 2008.

It will also be the Vols’ second meeting against Northwestern (10-2). Tennessee beat the Wildcats 48-28 in the 1997 Citrus Bowl, thanks in large part to Peyton Manning’s 408 passing yards and four touchdown passes.

Tennessee (8-4) will enter the game on a five-game winning streak and its most regular-season wins since 2007.

“We are very excited and looking forward to representing the University of Tennessee, the state of Tennessee and all of Vol Nation in the 30th Annual Outback Bowl,” Coach Butch Jones said in a statement. “This will be a great opportunity and challenge for our football program as we will be facing the 12th-ranked football team in the country in Northwestern.”