Change is constant in Southeastern Conference football, with some years bringing about more than others.
The 2026 season will be heavy on change, as the SEC is implementing a nine-game league schedule for the first time in its history. The SEC has staged eight conference contests since 1992, when the league added Arkansas and South Carolina to form a 12-team collection consisting of two six-team divisions.
Adding Missouri and Texas A&M in 2012 resulted in two seven-team divisions, but the league lumped everyone together in 2024 when Oklahoma and Texas arrived.
“The nine-game schedule reflects confidence in our universities, our student-athletes and in our football programs,” conference commissioner Greg Sankey said Monday as SEC media days opened in Tampa. “It preserves great rivalries and historic rivalries. It creates more compelling conference matchups and reinforces our longstanding commitment to competitive excellence.
“When you look at our schedule, no one has created the kind of weekly competition that exists in the Southeastern Conference. It’s competition that our fans will experience every week, because we believe we’re the best conference in college football.”