The SEC is making a significant change to its football schedule starting with the 2026 season.
The conference announced Thursday that it will move to a nine-game conference schedule next season. The decision was officially approved and announced Thursday by commissioner Greg Sankey.
“Adding a ninth SEC game underscores our universities’ commitment to delivering the most competitive football schedule in the nation,” Sankey said in a statement. “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 SEC will maintain its current organization, and each school will play three teams each year that will be classed as traditional rivals. The other six games will rotate among the rest of the conference’s schools, and each school will play each other at least once every two seasons.
The SEC has long considered a move to a nine-game conference schedule. Both the Big Ten and Big 12 already do so, which has led to some criticism of the SEC for allowing top teams to play an extra cupcake opponent during what is otherwise a gauntlet of a schedule. Sankey had maintained that issue was not as significant as others made it out to be, but it only benefits the league to add that additional game.
This change has been rumored for years, but financial considerations may have played a role in delaying it. One major factor in the decision was the CFP’s decision to tweak its strength of schedule metrics, which will give more weight to games against top opponents. That should reduce the risk that a two-loss SEC team might be left out of the playoff to accommodate a one-loss team from another conference that played a weaker schedule.
