- The SEC will play eight conference games in 2024 and 2025. What about 2026? TBD.
- Greg Sankey on SEC's 2026 football schedule: 'I don't expect it to be resolved this week'
MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – Eight conference games or nine?
Don't expect any answers from the SEC at this week's SEC Spring Meetings.
The SEC will expand to 16 teams this year with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, but the conference will maintain an eight-game conference schedule for football in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, with opponents already announced.
So what will the format be after 2026? That's still to be determined, and commissioner Greg Sankey doesn't expect it will be decided after Thursday's meeting.
“I don't anticipate there will be a lot of discussion here about the football schedule,” Sankey said Monday, the day before the three-day conference.
The schedule debate was a hot topic throughout the conference last year, with divisions eliminated but the eight-game schedule format kept, with the SEC matching the ACC with eight conference games and the Big Ten and Big 12 playing nine conference games each.
“Given everything that's going on around us, there's kind of a timeline (to be determined later) and we're continuing to have conversations about it,” Sankey said.
However, Sankey did tease some scheduling news.
The SEC is expected to announce game times for the first three weeks of this season, as well as several other dates, on Thursday.
Additionally, he said all game times for the early TV slots will be announced by mid-June. Those games are scheduled to kick off between noon and 1 p.m. ET.
What about the conference schedule format in 2026?
“Please feel free to ask questions,” Sankey told reporters.
Just don't expect answers this week.
Blake Toppmeyer is the SEC columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter. translator.
Also, check out his podcast, “SEC Football Unfiltered.”, We also publish a newsletter called “SEC Football Unfiltered.” subscribe Read all his columns.
