The SEC is poised to officially welcome the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns to its conference lineup this summer, with the release of the 2024 football schedule. This schedule, featuring 16 teams for the first time, maintains the standard format of eight conference games and four non-conference contests for each team, a tradition in the SEC.
In June 2023, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey had announced that the 2024 schedule would be a “one-year schedule,” breaking away from past scheduling patterns. This decision was intended to allow flexibility in managing football scheduling around existing non-conference commitments and to assess the impact of an expanded College Football Playoff.
Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte recently disclosed plans for the SEC’s future football scheduling at a town hall-style meeting.
He stated that the current year (2024) and the following year (2025) will both feature an eight-game schedule. The transition to a nine-game conference schedule is under consideration for the 2026 season.
Del Conte acknowledged the advantages of a nine-game schedule, such as increased intra-conference matchups, but noted the potential challenge of an imbalance in home and away games. The preference for playing seven home games annually poses a hurdle, requiring three non-conference home games in years with four SEC home games and five on the road. This could impact longstanding non-conference rivalries and reduce the number of significant home-and-home series in future seasons.
Regarding the possibility of Texas engaging in home-and-home matchups with former Big 12 foes, Del Conte expressed uncertainty.
