The SEC is sticking with an eight-game conference schedule in football once Oklahoma and Texas join the league in 2024. During this week’s SEC spring meetings, the conference’s 14 university presidents voted unanimously in favor of keeping an eight-game slate instead of moving to a nine-game model. The conference will reevaluate the move before the 2025 season to ensure it is still beneficial under college football's new playoff format.
SEC teams will still be required to play at least one non-conference opponent from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 or a major independent. In addition, the SEC will eliminate its East and West divisions, opting instead for a single-standing format that will see the two teams with the best records meet in the SEC Championship Game.
"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," said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey through a release from the conference. "Creating a one-year schedule will provide a longer on-ramp to manage football scheduling around existing non-conference commitments of our members. It will also provide additional time to understand the impact of an expanded College Football Playoff and engage with our media partners as we determine the appropriate long-term plan for SEC football scheduling.
"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."
According to the SEC's release, the single-standings format will allow each school to face off against each other a minimum of two times in a four-year period, regardless of whether the conference utilizes an 8-game or 9-game format in the future.
The 2024 SEC schedule is set to be announced on June 14. Alabama's non-conference slate for 2024 includes home games against Western Kentucky (Aug. 31), South Florida (Sept. 7) and Mercer (Nov. 16), as well as a trip to Wisconsin on Sept. 14.
