Tag: sec scheduling

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey addresses timeline for scheduling decisions

It seems the SEC is still deliberating when it comes to the future format.

We all know the SEC is set to look a lot different when Oklahoma and Texas join the league starting with the 2024 football season. But what exactly those changes will entail remains a bit of a mystery.

One thing we can say with relative certainty: The two-division format is almost definitely heading into its final season and will likely be replaced by either an eight or nine-game format with three permanent conference opponents and the rest rotating.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey addressed these possibilities during an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show, implying that the league’s spring meetings in Destin, Florida, could be a pivotal time in the decision-making process.

“We have, really, between now and I think our spring meetings in Destin to go back to the fundamentals of why we’ve looked at different models,” Sankey said on The Paul Finebaum Show Friday. “Generally, a single division. Key question, eight or nine games. A lot of discussion about permanent opponents, one or three? And here’s the caution for everyone. We’re won’t have a schedule with only three teams on it, for example. We will have a schedule with eight or nine games, and the weighting of the schedule, the analysis of the schedule, has to be done with the full schedule. One of the opportunities here is to play everybody every other year and one or three teams every year. That’s a much tighter strength of schedule balance than what we’ve experienced in divisions.

“We know we can narrow the competitive disparity, and I think that’s an important part that gets lost in the conversation. Now, will things stay as some people think they are? We’ll see. Those are the decisions to be made between now and the end of May.”

It seems there are still deliberations going on in determining the scheduling format going forward, but with the 2023 season on the horizon, the league is coming close to decision time.

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The Dawgs have spoken, and they want Auburn

In terms of future SEC football scheduling, Georgia players have made it clear that they want to play Auburn every season.

The future of SEC scheduling has been a wedge issue ever since Oklahoma and Texas expressed interest in joining the conference.

Now that their move-in date has been finalized, the topic has gained more traction. There are many options that commissioner Greg Sankey and members of the front office could go with, but the most popular model amongst fans and media alike is a nine-game SEC slate, with three permanent rivals and a rotation of six other opponents within the conference each season.

If that model were to be chosen, three current Georgia players have expressed who they would like to play each season. There were several programs mentioned, but there were only two programs that every three players listed… Auburn and Tennessee.

DawgNation writer Mike Griffith asked three Bulldogs: Chris Smith, Broderick Jones, and Kearis Jackson, what their preferences would be for the projected model. Here’s how they answered:

  • Chris Smith: Florida, Auburn, Tennessee
  • Broderick Jones: Auburn, Tennessee, Missouri
  • Kearis Jackson: Tennessee, Auburn, Alabama

Kearis Jackson chose three of the most challenging options because it features a solid balance between what the fans want, and what the players want.

“I feel like those three games there would be opportunities that the fans would like but the players would like as well because we like going against the best of the best,” Jackson said.

RELATED: Which SEC teams have the best chance of being Auburn Football’s permanent opponents?

According to Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated, Auburn’s projected locked opponents are Alabama, Georgia, and Vanderbilt. Sankey says that the winning scheduling option could be finalized in May during the SEC spring meetings in Destin, Florida.

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