While the SEC taking Oklahoma and Texas from the Big 12 has caused fear and panic throughout the rest of college sports, it’s possible this acquisition will push the SEC toward a move fans, coaches and administrators in other leagues have wanted for years. When the Sooners and Longhorns arrive in the SEC — no later than July 1, 2025, but a settlement might get them there sooner — the SEC may begin playing nine conference games in football.
Multiple sources from various SEC schools confirmed this weekend that a nine-game conference schedule is one of the possibilities the league will consider as it works to assimilate Oklahoma and Texas. How exactly that would look also would be open for discussion. The league could assign permanent opponents to each team and rotate through the remaining teams. The league could split into four, four-team pods and rotate the schedule that way. The league also could keep two divisions, though there is fear that might seem like two separate conferences. “Everything is on the table,” one source said.
The move to nine games probably would be welcome to people in the Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 who grew increasingly frustrated because SEC schools played one fewer conference game than the schools in their leagues. This allowed SEC schools to schedule an easier nonconference game and allowed the schools to break up their schedules in a more manageable way.
If the SEC does move to nine games, the reason would be less competitive than financial. Fan bases at multiple schools have grown bored with the current scheduling model. The SEC currently plays eight conference games. Each team plays its six division opponents annually. Teams play one fixed interdivisional opponent annually.