The Southeastern Conference announced that beginning in 2026 it will expand its football slate to nine league games per team, a change designed to reflect the SEC’s new 16-member alignment following the addition of Texas and Oklahoma. The move places the conference in line with the Big Ten and Big 12, both of which already use a nine-game format and is expected to increase competitive balance while strengthening schedules for playoff consideration.
As part of the plan, schools will be assigned three permanent rivals to preserve historic matchups, with the remaining six games rotating across the league. The SEC will continue without divisions, meaning the two teams with the best overall conference records will advance to the championship game. The new cycle ensures that every school will play each other at least once every two years and host every opponent within a four-year span.
In addition, the league’s requirement that each program face at least one non-conference Power Four opponent—or Notre Dame—remains unchanged. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey described the format as a balance of tradition and modernization, aimed at protecting rivalries while giving teams stronger résumés in the expanded College Football Playoff era.
