SEC athletic directors have adopted a nine-game conference football schedule starting with the 2026-27 season, the league announced Thursday. The development comes as the CFP is set to implement new metrics in 2025 that place greater emphasis on strength of schedule, a change that could benefit SEC teams.
The proposed expansion marks a major shift for the SEC, which has traditionally played eight conference games per season. The league has debated the idea for more than four years, but renewed television revenue and potential advantages in playoff positioning reinvigorated discussions.
Under the nine-game format, each SEC team would play three permanent conference opponents and rotate through six others each season.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey addressed the scheduling debate during SEC Media Days in July.
«It’s absolutely, fully and 100% correct that we play eight conference games, while others play nine conference games,» Sankey said. «It’s also correct that last season, all 16 (of our) members played at least nine games against, what you would label, power opponents. … I handed out a bunch of stats that created a stir in Destin (at SEC spring meetings) that showed there’s a rigor here that is unique.»
Sankey added at the time that a decision must come soon if the SEC moves to nine games, though he did not provide a timeline for releasing the 2026 schedule.
New SEC schedule format
- Starts in 2026
- Each team will play nine games, with three perminant opponents
- Each team’s other six opponents will rotate among the league’s six remaining schools
- Each team will face every other SEC program at least once every two years. And every opponent home and away every four years.
Ripple effects
Now that the SEC has approved a nine-game conference schedule, the ACC is expected to follow suit, potentially bringing all Power Four conferences to uniform nine-game slates, according to Yahoo Sports.
Such alignment could simplify College Football Playoff evaluations, making it easier for the selection committee to compare teams across conferences. On Wednesday, the CFP introduced a new «record strength» metric for 2025, which gives extra credit for victories over quality opponents while lessening penalties for losses to strong teams. CFP executive director Rich Clark said the changes are intended to help the committee «construct a postseason bracket that recognizes the best performances and teams on the field during the regular season.»
A nine-game SEC schedule would give teams more opportunities to face high-level opponents, which could help the league maximize its representation in the playoff under the new metrics. The ACC may feel pressure to match the format to remain competitive, creating ripple effects across college football that directly connect to how the CFP could be structured in the future.
How the Power Four schedules
| Conference | Number of Teams | Number of Conference Games |
|---|---|---|
| ACC | 18 | 8 (9 starting in 2026) |
| Big Ten | 18 | 9 |
| Big 12 | 16 | 9 |
| SEC | 16 | 8 |
Scheduling decisions like these are intertwined with proposals to expand the CFP. Under an earlier «4-4-2-2-1» model, the Big Ten and SEC would each receive four guaranteed spots, the ACC and Big 12 would get two apiece, the Group of Six would have one guaranteed representative and three at-large spots would remain. While coaches initially rejected the plan, the SEC’s interest in a nine-game schedule aligns with the league’s broader goal of strengthening team schedules and positioning its programs favorably under both current and forthcoming playoff metrics.
