Alabama AD issues statement on SEC moving to 9-game football schedule
The SEC announced it will move to a 9-game conference football schedule beginning in 2026.
Under the new format, each SEC school will play three annual opponents “focused on maintaining many traditional rivalries,” while the remaining six games will rotate among the remaining conference schools. The league’s 16 teams will face every other SEC football program at least once every two years and every opponent home and away in four years.
Shortly after the announcement, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne released a statement.
“The implementation of a nine-game Southeastern Conference football schedule illustrates our league’s commitment to evolving with the changing landscape and creating even more high-profile matchups,” Byrne said via X. “This is a win for our program, student-athletes, fans and all of college football.
“With the addition of a ninth SEC game, we will evaluate our future nonconference schedules.”
Additionally, teams are required to schedule at least one additional high-quality non-conference from the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten or Big 12 conferences or Notre Dame each season.
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That’s not a problem for Alabama, which has two Power Four opponents scheduled every year through 2034. The Crimson Tide is set to travel to West Virginia to open the 2026 season and play host to Florida State. But Alabama will evaluate its future schedules, Byrne said.
Future Alabama non-conference opponents
2026 – at West Virginia; South Florida; Florida State
2027 – West Virginia; at Ohio State
2028 – Ohio State; UT Martin; at Oklahoma State
2029- at Notre Dame; Oklahoma State
2030 – at Georgia Tech; Notre Dame
2031 – Georgia Tech; at Boston College
2032 – Arizona; at Minnesota
2033 – at Arizona; Minnesota
2034 – at Virginia Tech; Boston College
2035 – Virginia Tech
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