SEC commissioner Greg Sankey announced on Thursday the league will play an 8-game conference schedule in 2024 when Oklahoma and Texas join the league. Sankey told reporters in Destin, Florida, that the league will re-evaluate moving to a 9-game schedule in 2025.

The debate over an 8- or 9-game schedule had raged for more than a year until, this week, Sankey said the university presidents voted unanimously in favor of preserving the 8-game slate.

The 2024 schedule will be set on June 14. Teams will still be required to play at least one non-conference opponent from another Power 5 league, Sankey said. The conference will eliminate divisions and send the top two teams in the 16-team standings to the SEC Championship in 2024.

Asked if Texas would face Texas A&M in 2024, Sankey said the league would honor traditional rivalries and do the same for secondary rivalries “to the extent you can” with future schedules

Saturday Down South’s Matt Hayes reported earlier this week that hopes of a 9-game schedule in 2024 were fading quickly as those in favor simply didn’t have the votes.

Alabama AD Greg Byrne told Hayes the SEC needed more information from the College Football Playoff management committee on how it will value strength of schedule against record when the Playoff expands to 12 teams. That information will be vital in deciding between the 8- or 9-game slates. ESPN’s willingness to pay more for additional games has also been a sticking point in the talks.

For now, it seems the league is kicking the can down the road for another year.