The SEC potentially moving to nine conference games from its current set-up of eight continues to be a topic of discussion in college football, an issue that commissioner Greg Sankey addressed Monday.
In his address to reporters at the opening of SEC Media Days in Atlanta, Sankey that whether or not the SEC goes to eight or nine conference games in football in the future, the league’s members will still be playing the toughest schedule in the country. The SEC and ACC play eight conference games, while the Big 12 and Big Ten play nine.
“It is absolutely fully 100% correct that in the SEC we play eight conference games while some others play nine conference games; that’s never been a secret,” Sankey said. “It’s also correct that last season all 16 members of the Southeastern Conference played at least nine games against what you would label ‘power’ opponents. We had several that played 10 of their 12 games against power opponents. Some conferences have that, some don’t. The same will be true this year.
“I don’t believe there’s anyone looking to swap their conference schedule and its opponents, with the opponents played by Southeastern Conference teams in our conference schedule, be it eight or nine. … In the SEC, we’re not lacking for quality competition among our 16 football teams.”
That said, the SEC must make a decision on its schedule format before the 2026 schedule can be released. Typically, the league has announced the upcoming year’s schedule in December.
Sankey added that the SEC and its membership has taken a “wait and see” approach on scheduling, given the uncertain future of the College Football Playoff format. The CFP is committed to staying at 12 teams only through the 2025 season, making the SEC’s scheduling timetable flexible.
“… We’re going to continue to evaluate whether increasing the number of conference football games is appropriate for us — and as I’ve said repeatedly, understanding how the CFP will evaluate strength of schedule and even strength of record is critically important in our decision-making,” he said. … “I’ve been careful about giving dates. I’ve said repeatedly I learned during COVID that you want to use your time. It won’t linger terribly.”
