Written By JR Robinson

Memphis is a football town, and this fall, the city's hometown sub shop is making sure every Friday feels like gameday. Lenny's Grill & Subs has officially teamed up as a proud sponsor of Memphis Tigers football, and to celebrate, they're rolling out Blue Fridays — a season-long promotion that rewards Tiger pride with real savings, every single week.

Here's everything you need to know about the partnership, the deal, and why this could be one of the most exciting seasons of Memphis football in years.

What Are Blue Fridays?

It's simple: every Friday, walk into any Lenny's location wearing Memphis Tigers gear — a jersey, a t-shirt, a hat, anything repping the blue and gray — and you'll get 25% off your entire order. No coupon to dig up, no app to download. Just throw on your Tigers gear on your way out the door and let your pride do the talking at the register.

It's the kind of promotion that makes sense the moment you hear it. Lenny's has deep Memphis roots, the Tigers are the pride of the city, and Fridays are when Memphis starts looking ahead to Saturday kickoff. Blue Fridays turns that anticipation into a standing weekly tradition — and a reason to make Lenny's part of your pregame routine all season long.

A Hometown Sandwich Shop Backing a Hometown Team

Lenny's isn't just any sponsor — it's as Memphis as the Tigers themselves. The chain got its start right in the Memphis area back in 1998, when founders Len and Shelia Moore opened the very first Lenny's Sub Shop in Bartlett, Tennessee. Within a year, that single location had grown to five, and franchising began just a few years later. Today, Lennys Grill & Subs has grown to around 100 locations, mainly spread across the southeastern United States — but the brand has never lost its Memphis identity.

Known for hand-sliced deli subs and authentic Philly-style cheesesteaks made with fresh-baked bread, Lenny's has built its reputation the same way the Tigers have built theirs: through consistency, hustle, and hometown loyalty. And Lenny's isn't just a lunch stop — it's a go-to for Memphis get-togethers of every size. Their catering menu covers everything from box lunches for a quick team meeting to party platters and sub trays that feed a crowd, making it a natural fit for tailgates, watch parties, and postgame celebrations across the city. Whether you're feeding two people or twenty before kickoff, Lenny's has a way to get real Memphis flavor on the table.

That local-first mentality is exactly why this partnership feels less like a corporate sponsorship and more like two Memphis institutions showing up for each other.

The Tigers Are Entering a New Era

Blue Fridays couldn't come at a more exciting time to be a Memphis football fan. The 2026 season marks the start of a genuinely new chapter for the program: the Tigers are led by first-year head coach Charles Huff, with an entirely new coaching staff taking the reins at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. Huff has made it clear since the moment he arrived in Memphis that he wants this program competing for conference championships — and after a nearly complete roster turnover, this fall is shaping up to be a fascinating, high-stakes introduction to the Huff era.

The schedule itself is loaded with intrigue. Memphis Athletics announced a 12-game slate featuring six home contests at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, multiple weeknight matchups, and high-profile nonconference games against both participants from the 2025 Mountain West Championship Game. A few highlights Tigers fans won't want to miss:

• Week Zero on the road: Memphis opens the season on Saturday, August 29, traveling to Las Vegas to face UNLV — the first-ever meeting between the two programs and Memphis's first-ever appearance in a Week Zero game.
• Home opener: The Tigers return home on September 5 to host Arkansas State in the 63rd all-time meeting of a series dating back to 1914.
• Friday night lights on the road: A Friday night showdown at Tulane on October 16 puts Memphis in the national spotlight.
• Weeknight tests: Thursday matchups against East Carolina on October 22 and at South Florida on November 12 add extra intensity to the back half of the schedule.
• A gauntlet of a schedule: Eight of Memphis's 11 FBS opponents earned bowl berths in 2025, meaning this Tigers team will be tested from start to finish before the American Conference Championship Game on December 5.

And for fans looking to be there in person, the timing has never been better: season tickets start at just $99 — a $50 reduction from last season — one of the best values in college football.

With a brand-new coordinator staff on both sides of the ball and a roster largely rebuilt around Coach Huff's vision, nobody quite knows what to expect on the field — and that's exactly what makes this season must-watch football. It's a fresh start, a tough schedule, and a fanbase ready to rally behind their team.

Why Blue Fridays Matters for Memphis

Sports partnerships work best when they actually bring a community together — and that's exactly the goal here. Blue Fridays isn't just a discount; it's an invitation. It's a reason for coworkers to coordinate their Tigers gear before a Friday lunch run. It's a reason for families to make a Lenny's stop part of their gameday tradition. It's a reason for Memphis to show its colors one day a week, every week, all season long — win or lose.

For a city that wears its pride on its sleeve (and, on Fridays, on its t-shirts), this is a partnership that just makes sense.

How to Take Part

It couldn't be easier:

1. Wear your Tigers gear — a jersey, t-shirt, hat, or any Memphis Tigers paraphernalia counts.
2. Head to any Lenny's location, any Friday, all season.
3. Show your Tiger pride at checkout and get 25% off your entire order.

That's it. No sign-up, no app, no strings attached — just Memphis showing up for Memphis.

So grab your gear, grab your appetite, and get ready for a season of Blue Fridays. Whether you're gearing up for a road trip to Vegas for the season opener or settling in for a Friday night showdown at Tulane, Lenny's will be right there with you — 25% off and all in blue.

Learn more and find a location near you at lennys.com.