After the SEC announced it would be moving to a nine-game conference schedule in 2026, Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne shared his reaction. He also shared what the decision means for the Crimson Tide’s future schedules. Conversations about a nine-game SEC schedule have taken place the last few years, but no move took place. That […]
After the SEC announced it would be moving to a nine-game conference schedule in 2026, Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne shared his reaction. He also shared what the decision means for the Crimson Tide’s future schedules.
Conversations about a nine-game SEC schedule have taken place the last few years, but no move took place. That changed Thursday when the league announced it would be adding a game to the conference slate. Teams will have three permanent opponents and six rotating opponents each year.
Byrne called the decision a “win” for Alabama and college football. He also said the Crimson Tide will now do some evaluation of the future non-conference schedules.
“The implementation of a nine-game Southeastern Conference football schedule illustrates our league’s commitment to evolving with the changing landscape and creating even more high-profile matchups,” Byrne wrote on X. “This is a win for our program, student-athletes, fans and all of college football. With the addition of a ninth SEC game, we will evaluate our future nonconference schedules.”
The SEC’s scheduling decision has been a key topic of discussion the last few years, and it became even more important around the College Football Playoff discussion. The SEC and Big Ten have most of control regarding the CFP’s future, and they were at odds about expansion. That’s where the conference schedule came into play.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankeyexplained why the SEC chose to add another conference game to its schedule. He told Finebaum the discussions started in August 2021 in the first meeting after the league announced it would expand to 16 teams and about getting fans to each town. While there were differing viewpoints, Sankey said the COVID year helped lay the foundation for this transition.
“It took a while,” Sankey said. “A lot of factors involved – you and I have talked about bowl eligibility, the CFP. Some of the work by the CFP so far this year is progress. It’s not a destination, but the honoring of schedule strength that’s been communicated is really important for the Southeastern Conference. Being leaders in college football, continuing to play games against non-conference opponents at a high level in addition to the nine games. I think that’s a representation of fulfilling that leadership responsibility. That’s not something that’s done every place. Not everyone agrees. I’m certain that our coaches are concerned about the competitive aspect. We’ve got to continue to improve the selection process for the postseason.
“Yet, when you factor that in along with our media relationship with ESPN. What we experienced from viewership last year, when you go back to the COVID year where we played conference-only games and had the highest viewership consumption on the SEC Network because every one of those games were great games, a lot of lessons that also set us up for future decision-making and future opportunities. Those are but some of the factors that brought us to this conclusion.”
Category: General Sports
