Divisions are going away in Southeastern Conference football following the 2023 season.
An eight-game league schedule is not.
The SEC announced Thursday afternoon at its spring meetings in Destin, Florida, that a bridge schedule will be used for the 2024 season in which every league member will play eight conference contests and at least one required opponent from another Power Five conference or a major independent. The league added that it continues to finalize “a long-term strategy as a 16-team conference,” which it will become in 2024 when Oklahoma and Texas move over from the Big 12.
“We have been engaged in planning for the entry of Oklahoma and Texas into the SEC since the summer of 2021,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said through a league release, “but the change of the membership date from 2025 to 2024 creates scheduling complexities that can better be managed with a one-year schedule. Creating a one-year schedule will provide a longer on-ramp to manage football scheduling around existing nonconference commitments of our members.
“It will also provide additional time to understand the impact of an expanded College Football Playoff and engage with our media partners as we determine the appropriate long-term plan for SEC football scheduling. During this time of change, our fans will continue to enjoy traditional rivalries and begin to see new matchups presented by the addition of two historically successful football programs.”