The SEC is officially moving to the growingly popular nine-game conference schedule format. The conference announced on Thursday that it will go to a three-annual opponent and six-rotational opponent in-conference schedule beginning in the 2026 season.
SEC teams will also be required to play an additional out-of-conference game against a Power Four opponent. This means teams will go from commonly playing nine games against quality opponents, along with three ‘cupcake games’, to a consistent 10, along with two more games to schedule.
“Adding in a ninth SEC game underscores our universities’ commitment to delivering the most competitive football schedule in the nation,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. “This format protects rivalries, increases competitive balance, and paired with our requirement to play an additional Power opponent, ensures SEC teams are well prepared to compete and succeed in the College Football Playoff.”
The new format will feature the following, as laid out by the SEC:
- The SEC will continue with a single-standings, non-divisional structure;
- Each school will play three annual opponents focused on maintaining many traditional rivalries;
- Each team’s remaining six games will rotate among the remaining conference schools; and
- Each team will face every other SEC program at least once every two years and every opponent home and away in four years.
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This change from eight to nine is the first alteration of the number of games the SEC plays since 1992, when the league went to an eight-game format. This came after the expansion from 10 to 12 teams in the conference.
Now, with 16 teams in the SEC, divisions have already been abolished and aren’t coming back. This created a two-year period where teams played the same eight opponents for their SEC schedule, while flipping locations from the year prior.
Beginning next season, every team will be paired up with three other universities for annual games. In the case of Tennessee, two seem obvious. It’d be very surprising to see Vanderbilt and Alabama not on the Vols’ yearly schedule. The other is up for debate. You could make arguments for Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina and a few other schools as a permanent rivalry.
