The years-long debate has ended. The SEC is adding a ninth conference game.
On Thursday, the SEC announced it will formally move to a 9-game league schedule starting with the 2026 football season. The non-divisional structure that was put in place for the 2024 season will remain going forward. Each school will have 3 protected rivalry games in an effort to maintain “traditional rivalries.”
The remaining 6 league games will rotate each year. Every SEC team will face every other SEC team at least once every 2 years, and every team will have road games against every opponent in 4 years.
“Adding a ninth SEC game underscores our universities’ commitment to delivering the most competitive football schedule in the nation,” SEC commissioner Greg 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 league will also require all of its teams to continue to schedule at least one “high quality” nonconference opponent from the ACC, the Big Ten, or the Big 12 each season. Notre Dame also fits into that group. The league said it will “continue to evaluate its policies” on the nonconference front.
“The SEC has established itself as the leader in delivering the most compelling football schedule in college athletics,” Sankey said. “Fans will see traditional rivalries preserved, new matchups more frequently, and a level of competition unmatched across the nation.”
A report published Thursday morning from Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger suggested that discussions around a 9-game schedule had advanced in recent days. Dellenger stated that SEC presidents were expected to “meet soon” to discuss the move.
The 8-game schedule has been in place since the 1992 season when the conference expanded from 10 teams to 12 teams with the addition of Arkansas and South Carolina. Some within the league had been resistant to an extra game without certain assurances from the CFP. Sankey had stated on the record numerous times that the schedule discussion and the next CFP model were intertwined.
On Wednesday, the College Football Playoff announced it would be altering its selection procedures and analysis to better account for schedule and record strength. Much has been made about the impact of scheduling in the months since an 11-1 Indiana team and an 11-2 SMU team made the CFP over multiple 9-win SEC teams.
With the CFP’s stated goal to more accurately weigh losses to “high quality” opponents against wins over “lower quality” teams, the SEC stands to benefit. According to Bill Connelly’s SP+, every single team in the SEC has a 2025 schedule that ranks among the 25 toughest in America.
Now, those schedules figure to only get more difficult.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
