SEC needs to avoid dropping ball on tremendous ratings opportunity with Hogs, other fans

Not giving fans schedule release show would be negligent, bad call for 16-team fan bases

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Mike Washington stiff-arms an Arkansas State Red Wolves defender at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark. | Ted McClenning-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The SEC is trying to be somewhat secretive about its announcement of next year's schedule and the three permanent opponents assigned to each school.

It's not working out well so far. Word got out earlier this week that the plan is for that information to be released next Tuesday.

However, it's possible it was slated to come out Thursday originally. Dari Nowkhah, a long time staple as a lead host on the SEC Network was on the "Chuck and Bo Show" Friday morning going out of his way to confirm nothing.

He wasn't even willing to confirm the announcement will come Tuesday and seemed incredibly nervous with each answer. Yet, there was one thing he let slip that was rather curious.

Nowkhah mentioned he thought there would be information that would come out Thursday that didn't, which surprised him. He also said he didn't think athletics directors would know until Tuesday.

"They're better than I thought they were. I probably thought they were a 5 or 6 win team. I could see them winning 7 or 8 now"

ESPN's Dari Nowkhah (@ESPNDari) on what he's seen from Arkansas so far this season: pic.twitter.com/Jd8vcghRCR

— The Chuck & Bo Show (@chuckandboshow) September 19, 2025

Some of the implications were that there were still minor tweaks being done, or at least considered, at the request of various school executives. The other thing potentially slowing the process, or at the very least it should be, is the realization that this is information shouldn't just be shoved out into the world as a press release.

If SEC offices just ship out an e-mail, it will be gross negligence on their behalf. This is too big of a deal to fans who have been waiting for years for this day to come.

There has to be a show that takes its time revealing the schedule for each school with time taken afterward to discuss all the permanent opponents and who has the toughest road and most difficult yearly teams. There's too much money to be made.

It will the biggest ratings of the year. It's the one opportunity to have all 16 programs, a giant swath of the nation's potential viewing audience, locked in to the SEC Network at once.

Because of this, the only thing that would be more stunning than Barry Odom's Purdue Boilermakers knocking off Notre Dame or Florida taking down Miami would be if we don't get a string of commercials wedged between all those Warby Parker and Dr Pepper Fansville commercials promoting an SEC schedule release show.

It should run all day long from before "Marty and McGhee" in the early morning hours all the way through "College Football Final" wrapping things up late at night. It would make sense to slide them in during SEC games on the other branches of the ESPN network also.

For a league network so locked in on ratings and money making opportunities, there's just no way they miss the chance to not only do it, but to make a huge spectacle of the whole situation. If they go with a glorified selection show set up for prime time Tuesday, it will be all people talk about at work and all day long on the radio that day.

There wouldn't be a much bigger letdown than if fans don't get to have that Christmas morning level of anticipation where they know a set time and have a shared event to take part in. Surely the SEC wouldn't take that away from the fans with so much of a boost in ratings available on a day and time where numbers are exceedingly low.