The SEC and Big Ten will finally play the same number of conference games starting next season.
The SEC announced Thursday that it has voted to adopt a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2026, equalizing the number of conference games between college football’s top two conferences.
@SEC to implement nine-game conference football schedule beginning in 2026, reinforcing the SECs position as the nations leader in competitive excellence and fan excitement.
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) August 21, 2025
https://t.co/pMhRTuZGu0#SECFB x #ItJustMeansMore pic.twitter.com/NqzseBDd4E
The SEC’s announcement comes one month after a strong public push by Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and the conference’s coaches during Big Ten Media Days for the SEC to join the Big Ten in playing nine conference games. As the Big Ten and SEC work together to determine the future model for the College Football Playoff, the difference in conference games was one of the biggest sticking points between the two leagues, as Big Ten leaders felt the smaller number of conference games gave the SEC an advantage in earning at-large CFP selections.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day was one of the Big Ten coaches who lobbied for the SEC to play nine conference games, going as far as to threaten that Ohio State wouldn’t play non-conference games against Power 4 opponents in future seasons if the SEC continued to play fewer conference games than the Big Ten.
“When you play nine conference games, it's not the same as someone who plays eight conference games. We've said this before. And so if you're going to be compared against that, then it's just not the same,” Day said at Big Ten Media Days. “You play one more conference game, and so you can say, all right, that's one more conference game. But then also, it's one more conference game for everybody in the conference. So somewhere along the line, whoever's playing each other in that last game is going to get a loss. So, when you have a win in Week 4 against a team that loses that extra game, that win may not look as good. It's just one more loss. Now, it's one more win, but it's one more loss for the entire conference. That's different.”
Even with the jump to nine conference games, the SEC is keeping its requirement for all schools to play a non-conference games against a Power 4 opponent. In recent years, most SEC teams had played each of their other three non-conference games against non-Power 4 opponents – and in some cases, FCS opponents – but now, SEC teams will play a maximum of only two non-Power 4 opponents per year.
