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Tennessee's Josh Heupel reacts to the SEC's move to a nine-game football schedule

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey08/26/25GrantRamey
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel at SEC Media Days
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel at SEC Media Days (Jordan Godfree / Imagn Images)

The Southeastern Conference settling on a new scheduling format beginning next season means one less thing Tennessee Football coach Josh Heupel has to worry about next summer. When he goes to SEC Media Days, that won’t be a topic that has to be covered.

“One last question I got to worry about getting from you guys at media days or in those events,” Heupel said during his press conference on Monday. “We finally checked one off the box.”

The SEC on Thursday announced it will go to a nine-game conference schedule beginning next season, with each team having three permanent games to preserve “traditional” rivalries while the other six games rotate.

“This is the best conference top to bottom inside the country,” Heupel said. “What you face week in and week out, adding a ninth game, I think is exciting for everybody. Great venues, great games. So (I’m) really excited about that.”

The six-game rotation will mean every SEC team will face every other team in the league at least once every two years and every opponent home and away within four years. The SEC’s announcement did not include further information on the three rivalry games.

“Fans will see traditional rivalries preserved,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said a press release, “new matchups more frequently, and a level of competition unmatched across the nation.”

The league announced it will continue with a single-standings, non-divisional structure and will mandate that SEC teams play at least one non-conference opponent from a power conference — a team from either the ACC, Big 10, Big 12 or Notre Dame. 

“The SEC will continue to evaluate its policies,” the league added, “to ensure the continued scheduling of high-quality non-conference opponents.”

On3’s Andy Staples predicts Tennessee’s three rivalry games

Tennessee’s three most traditional rivals are Alabama, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. 

The Kentucky series is the most played, with 120 games dating back to 1893. The Vanderbilt series is the oldest, with its 119 games dating back to 1892. Tennessee and Alabama have played 107 times since 1901 and the Vols have played Georgia, Florida and Auburn 54 times each. 

On3’s Andy Staples on Friday predicted the Vols would face Alabama, Vanderbilt and Florida, while projecting the three rivals for every SEC team.

“Florida-Tennessee and Alabama-LSU became great rivalries during — and probably because of — the divisional era,” Staples wrote. “Those series don’t have the history of the non-negotiable games, but they’re fun and people seem to enjoy watching them on television.

“When in doubt,” Staples continued, “I opted for ratings. The schools probably won’t want to do this, and if the people hired to make the schedules are doing them with balance in mind, they probably won’t lean this way either.”

What We Know: Tennessee’s future schedules

Tennessee has at least one non-conference game scheduled through the 2030 season, including an opponent from a power conference on each schedule. 

The Vols host Furman, go to Georgia Tech and play Kennesaw State in 2026. In 2027 it will be Tennessee State, Georgia Tech and Western Michigan all at home. 

Tennessee plays West Virginia in Charlotte in 2028 and starts a home-and-home with Washington in 2029, playing in Knoxville first, then going to Seattle in 2030. 

The West Virginia game in 2028 and the Washington series are currently the only non-conference games scheduled for the 2028, 2029 and 2030 schedules.

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