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SEC announces move to 9-game conference schedule beginning in 2026; joins Big Ten, Big 12
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- SEC announces move to 9-game conference schedule beginning in 2026; joins Big Ten, Big 12
This story was updated with new information
One of college football's longest-standing debates is over.
On Aug. 21, the SEC announced that beginning with the 2026 college football season, the conference will shift to a nine-game conference schedule format for college football.
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"Adding a ninth SEC game underscores our universities' commitment to delivering the most competitive football schedule in the nation," SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. "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."
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The SEC currently plays an eight-game conference schedule for college football and has done so since the 1992 season. The decision also now lines the SEC up with the Big Ten and the Big 12, two Power Four conferences that have already adopted a nine-game conference schedule.
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The shift to a nine-game regular season schedule for the SEC also comes less than a day after the College Football Playoff selection committee announced that it will put a greater emphasis on strength of schedule in determining the 12-team field for the CFP this season. The CFP selection committee also announced it is introducing a record strength metric that will go "beyond a team's schedule strength to assess how a team performed against that schedule" to its selection process.
Here's what to know the SEC's announcement that it is implementing a nine-game conference schedule:
SEC schedule format
Noted in the SEC's press release, every SEC team would have three annual opponents and six new rotating opponents each season in the nine-game conference schedule format.
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Here's what the full nine-game conference format would look like beginning in 2026, per the SEC's release:
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The SEC will continue with a single-standings, non-divisional structure
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Each school will play three annual opponents focused on maintaining many traditional rivalries
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Each team's remaining six games will rotate among the remaining conference schools
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Each team will face every other SEC program at least once every two years and every opponent home and away in four years
Additionally, SEC teams will be required to schedule at least one additional high-quality non-conference game from the ACC, Big Ten or Big 12 conferences or Notre Dame each season under this new format.
When is SEC moving to 9-game schedule?
In its announcement on Thursday, the SEC announced that it will shift to a nine-game regular season conference schedule starting in 2026. It is the first adjustment to the SEC's conference schedule since 1992, when the conference first expanded from a 10-team membership to 12-team membership with the additions of Arkansas and South Carolina.
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Power Four college football scheduling formats
With the SEC's announcement on Thursday, the ACC is the outlier among the Power Four conferences that won't play a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2026.
Noted by Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger prior to the SEC's official announcement on Thursday, the ACC is expected to follow suit with the SEC by adopting a nine-game conference schedule.
SEC statement on conference scheduling
Here's an additional statement from Sankey on the conference's shift to a nine-game conference schedule:
"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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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SEC switching to 9-game conference schedule beginning in 2026
