SEC announces 2024 scheduling changes

SANDESTIN BEACH, Fla (WSFA) - The Southeastern Conference announced a scheduling format for the 2024 football season on Thursday.

The one-year schedule format has been released while the conference continues to finalize a long-term strategy as a 16-team conference.

The schedule has SEC teams playing in 8 conference games plus one required opponent from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, or major independent during the 2024 season when the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas join the SEC.

The SEC will also eliminate divisional standing beginning in 2024. The conference championship will now feature the top two teams in the overall conference standings at the end of the regular season.

This single standings format allows every school to play every other school a minimum of two times in a four-year period regardless of whether the SEC utilizes an 8-game or 9-game format for future conference play.

“We have been engaged in planning for the entry of Oklahoma and Texas into the SEC since the summer of 2021, but the change of the membership date from 2025 to 2024 creates scheduling complexities that can better be managed with a one-year schedule,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.

“Creating a one-year schedule will provide a longer on-ramp to manage football scheduling around existing non-conference commitments of our members,” Sankey said. “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 to the SEC,” Sankey said. Each school’s opponents for the 2024 season will be announced June 14 on a special primetime show on the SEC Network, and dates of games will be announced at a later date.

The schedule format was approved by a vote of the SEC Presidents and Chancellors following a recommendation from the league’s Athletics Directors during the annual SEC Spring Meetings in Sandestin Beach, Florida.

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