ATLANTA — Major changes are coming to football in the Southeastern Conference as the current setup of the powerhouse conference is set to undergo a major overhaul when the 2024 season begins.
On Thursday, the SEC established its new scheduling format, in addition to a long-term strategy for the conference and its divisions going forward when it expands to 16 teams with the additions of the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma the year after next.
Starting in 2024, the SEC will transition to a one-year schedule and eliminate all divisional standings. Here's how the SEC's new schedule will work:
- SEC teams will play eight conference games, plus one additional required game against a team from a Power 5 conference (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 or major independent)
- Each university will play every other school a minimum of two times in a four-year period, regardless of whether the SEC decides to utilize an eight or nine-game conference schedule
- Eliminating divisions in the SEC is something that many had anticipated the conference would do once the Longhorns and Sooners joined. This means that the SEC Championship Game will feature the top two teams from the SEC overall, with the SEC East and SEC West being completely disbanded.
- Each SEC team will get to keep one "permanent" rival moving forward they will play each season (in all likelihood, UGA will get to keep Florida as annual game)
"Creating a one-year schedule will provide a longer on-ramp to manage football scheduling around existing non-conference commitments of our members," SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. "During this time of change, our fans will continue to enjoy traditional rivalries and begin to see new matchups presented by the addition of two historically successful football programs to the SEC."
Each school's opponents for the 2024 season will be announced on June 14 during a special primetime show on the SEC Network, and then the dates of games will be announced at a later time.
"We have been engaged in planning for the entry of Oklahoma and Texas into the SEC since the summer of 2021, but the change of the membership date from 2025 to 2024 creates scheduling complexities that can better be managed with a one-year schedule," Sankey said.
Sankey also said the one-year schedule will provide extra time to engage with media partners and to understand how the expanded College Football Playoff will impact the conference as they determine a long-term plan for scheduling in the SEC moving forward.