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SEC announces move to nine-game league schedule, new format

On3 imageby: Jake Rowe08/21/25JakeMRowe
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The Southeastern Conference is adopting a nine-game league schedule, and it’ll start in 2026, per an announcement made on Thursday. The conference has used an eight-game conference schedule since 1992.

“Adding a ninth SEC game underscores our universities’ commitment to delivering the most competitive football schedule in the nation,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. “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 move to a nine-game conference schedule will see each team play three opponents annually, preserving some of the most historic rivalries. That’s significant news for Georgia fans, who were on the cusp of seeing the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry with Auburn paused in 2026. That game is now likely to stay on the schedule for every season.

Under the current format, Florida was set to be Georgia‘s only annual opponent with the other seven teams rotating every two years, once home and away games had been played. The SEC will also continue with a non-divisional, single-standings format.

The SEC announced that the new nine-game format will result in every team in the league playing one another every two years. That means that, in four game intervals, each SEC program will host and visit every other team in the league.

In addition to adding an extra conference game, the SEC is also making demand of each of its member programs. It is now a requirement that each team in the league schedule at least one “high quality” non-conference opponent from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the Big 12, or the Big 10. Georgia already has that game built in with it’s annual showdown with Georgia Tech.

“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.”

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