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Alabama football planned for SEC 9-game schedule: What future game contracts say
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- Alabama football planned for SEC 9-game schedule: What future game contracts say
Alabama football's future non-conference schedules could be changing. But those changes are something the Crimson Tide has been planning for since as early as 2019.
On Thursday, Aug. 21, the SEC announced it will implement a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2026. The SEC is also mandating that each school schedule at least one Power 4 opponent or Notre Dame each season.
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The Crimson Tide already has a who's who of games scheduled between 2026-2035, with home-and-home series scheduled against teams like Ohio State , Notre Dame, West Virginia , Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech .
In those game contracts, acquired by The Tuscaloosa News, Alabama and its opponents have language that accommodates potential changes in conference scheduling.
"The teams acknowledge the long-term nature of football schedule planning and that conference rules, including the requirement to play a minimum number of games each season within their respective conferences, as well as the prospect that conference alignments could change, dictating that a game cannot be played during the 2027 or 2028 season," Alabama 's game contract with Ohio State, which was drawn up in May 2020, states. "Accordingly, should this occur, the teams agree to discuss in good faith a future date(s) for the game(s) to be played."
Alabama put the same language in its three-game agreement with South Florida in April 2019, and ahead of its home-and-home meetings with Florida State , scheduled in October 2019, and with Wisconsin , which was scheduled in July 2019
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Similar language can be found in game contracts for future Alabama home-and-home meetings with Arizona , Boston College , Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
The Tuscaloosa News does not have game contracts for Alabama's future games against and Minnesota .
Alabama football future nonconference schedule
Starting in 2026, here's a look at the Crimson Tide's future non-conference schedule:
2026
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Sept. 5: Alabama at West Virginia
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Sept. 12: Alabama vs. South Florida
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Sepy. 19: Alabama vs. Florida State
2027
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Sept. 4: Alabama vs. West Virginia
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Sept. 18: Alabama at Ohio State
2028
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Sept. 9: Alabama vs. Ohio State
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Sept. 16: Alabama vs. UT Martin
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Sept. 23: Alabama at Oklahoma State
2029
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Sept. 1: Alabama at Notre Dame
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Sept. 15: Alabama vs. Oklahoma State
2030
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Aug. 31: Alabama at Georgia Tech
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Sept. 14: Alabama vs. Notre Dame
2031
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Aug. 30: Alabama vs. Georgia Tech
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Sept. 13: Alabama at Boston College
2032
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Sept. 4: Alabama vs. Arizona
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Sept. 18: Alabama at Minnesota
2033
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Sept. 3: Alabama at Arizona
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Sept. 17: Alabama vs. Minnesota
2034
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Sept. 2: Alabama at Virginia Tech
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Sept. 16: Alabama vs. Boston College
2035
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Sept. 1: Alabama vs. Virginia Tech
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football planned for SEC 9-game schedule: What game contracts say
