Josh Heupel reacts to SEC schedule report, Tennessee's three rivalry games

Josh Heupel said during his press conference on Monday afternoon that rivalries matter. According to a report earlier in the day from On3’s Chris Low, that’s exactly what Heupel’s Tennessee Football team will get over the next four seasons.

Low reported the three annual rivalry games for Tennessee will be Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. It’s the three oldest, most-played rivals for the Vols. The SEC will reevaluate the three rival opponents across the league every four seasons.

The SEC announced in August that the new nine-game scheduling model for the league beginning in 2026 would be include three annual rivals to go with a rotation of six other teams.

The SEC on Tuesday will officially announce the rivalry games across the conference as well as the full list of nine opponents for league teams for the next four seasons. 

“I do think rivalries matter,” Heupel said. “It’s part of the tradition of this game, fan bases pointing to those football games.”

A closer look at Tennessee’s SEC rivalry games

The Kentucky series is Tennessee’s most played, with 120 games dating back to 1893, and the Vanderbilt series is the oldest, with its 119 games dating back to 1892. 

Tennessee-Alabama is the most notable rivalry for the Vols, though, with the “Third Saturday in October” having been played 107 times since 1901. Tennessee has played Georgia 55 times and Florida and Auburn 54 times each. 

“I know that the league,” Heupel said, “(rivalries are) something that’s been important to them to try to protect some of those special games for universities and their fan bases.”

The SEC also announced in August that 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. 

Tennessee has power-conference opponents scheduled through 2030: at Georgia Tech (2026), Georgia Tech (2027), West Virginia in Charlotte (2028), Washington (2029) and at Washington (2030).

Tennessee begins rotation of six SEC teams next season

The annual six-team SEC rotation will mean every conference team will face every other team in the league at least once every two years and every opponent home and away within four years.

Tennessee the last two seasons added Oklahoma and Mississippi State to its SEC schedule, white Missouri and South Carolina rotated off.

“The SEC has established itself as the leader in delivering the most compelling football schedule in college athletics,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in the league’s press release announcing the scheduling decision. 

“Fans will see traditional rivalries preserved, new matchups more frequently, and a level of competition unmatched across the nation.”