SEC to introduce 9-game football schedule in 2026

The Southeastern Conference will move to a nine-game conference schedule in football beginning next year, the league announced Thursday.

The SEC joins the Big Ten and Big 12 in upping their conference slates from eight games to nine. That leaves the Atlantic Coast Conference as the only Power Four league still at eight as of 2026.

Additionally, the SEC will direct its schools to use one of its three nonconference games to face a "high-quality" opponent from one of the other three power conferences or Notre Dame.

Some schools are locked into traditional, annual rivalries outside the SEC -- Florida against Florida State, South Carolina against Clemson, Georgia against Georgia Tech -- but several more are not.

"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 SEC has considered the switch to a nine-game schedule for years, but it was finally approved by a meeting of the conference's presidents and chancellors.

The league will continue to operate without divisions, which were done away with following the 2023 season. Each team will play three protected opponents annually, which will cover a number of rivalry games.

The other six games will rotate in such a way that ensures each team will face every other SEC foe once every two years, and have every opponent home and away every four years.

"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."

--Field Level Media