Greg Sankey reacts to 9-game SEC schedule reveal, takes victory lap

After the SEC revealed what its nine-game conference schedule would look like, the commissioner shared his reaction. Greg Sankey expressed his excitement for the next four years of football in the league.

Sankey called it the “best set of conference games in all of college football” as he celebrated the reveal. He was a strong supporter of the nine-game schedule as talks continued about increasing from eight games, and his vision came to fruition with last month’s announcement.

SEC reveals 3 annual opponents, 9-game schedule for all conference teams

On3’s Chris Low first reported the full list of annual opponents for each SEC team as the new schedule format takes effect next year. The conference made the decision last month to increase to nine games amid years of discussion about whether to do so or stay at eight. Annual opponents will be evaluated every four years, and every team will face the remaining 12 teams once in a two-year span.

Best set of conference games in all of college football! In the @SEC #ItJustMeansMore https://t.co/652VV7mkJw

— Greg Sankey (@GregSankey) September 23, 2025

“Best set of conference games in all of college football!” Sankey wrote on X toward the end of the reveal show. “In the @SEC, #ItJustMeansMore.”

The SEC prioritized traditional rivalries, competitive fairness, rotational frequency and a home-and-away balance while determining annual opponents. Home opponents in 2026 will be away in 2028, and 2027 home opponents will be away in 2029.

Greg Sankey: ‘A lot of factors involved’ in 9-game schedule

Shortly after last month’s announcement, Greg Sankey cited the factors that led the SEC to add the extra game to its conference schedule. For starters, the College Football Playoff continues to emphasize strength of schedule and is introducing a new metric to help with that process. From there, the SEC held discussions with ESPN, and it led to the increased slate.

“It took a while,” Sankey said at the time on The Paul Finebaum Show. “A lot of factors involved – you and I have talked about bowl eligibility, the CFP. Some of the work by the CFP so far this year is progress. It’s not a destination, but the honoring of schedule strength that’s been communicated is really important for the Southeastern Conference. Being leaders in college football, continuing to play games against non-conference opponents at a high level in addition to the nine games. I think that’s a representation of fulfilling that leadership responsibility. That’s not something that’s done every place. Not everyone agrees. I’m certain that our coaches are concerned about the competitive aspect. We’ve got to continue to improve the selection process for the postseason.

“Yet, when you factor that in along with our media relationship with ESPN. What we experienced from viewership last year, when you go back to the COVID year where we played conference-only games and had the highest viewership consumption on the SEC Network because every one of those games were great games, a lot of lessons that also set us up for future decision-making and future opportunities. Those are but some of the factors that brought us to this conclusion.”