How Will The SEC Look?

[The Six]

SEC, sans divisions, going with 8-game conference slate in '24

Alex Scarborough, ESPN Staff Writer
Jun 1, 2023, 05:59 PM ET

The SEC won't be moving to a nine-game conference schedule after all. But it will be going forward in 2024 without divisions.

Commissioner Greg Sankey told reporters Thursday that the league has approved a temporary eight-game conference schedule for the 2024 football season when it welcomes Texas and Oklahoma to the league.

Sankey said that the league will continue exploring scheduling options for 2025 and beyond.

Sankey had strongly hinted at his preference for a nine-game conference schedule leading up to the SEC's spring meetings in Destin, Florida, this week. The proposal would have featured three permanent opponents, which would preserve long-standing rivalries, as well as six rotating opponents.

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Other than the obvious rivalries such as Alabama-Auburn, Georgia-Florida and Mississippi State-Ole Miss, sources told ESPN's Chris Low that a priority for the league would be preserving other long-standing rivalries such as Alabama-Tennessee, Auburn-Georgia and Texas-Texas A&M during the 2024 season.

There were a number of issues causing concern among stakeholders regarding the nine-game conference schedule. Among them: competitive balance and the desire for more revenue in return for the additional conference game.

Asked about the possibility of being compensated for an extra conference game, Sankey said he believes, "Money follows. It doesn't lead."

More here--->https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/37776202/sec-sans-divisions-going-8-game-conference-slate-24