Alabama head coach Nick Saban complains about new potential SEC scheduling model

Alabama head coach Nick Saban is not happy about the thought of the new SEC schedule that will be starting next season.

With Texas and Oklahoma on the move from the Big 12 a year earlier than anticipated, conversations surrounding schedule realignment have sped up, with the Southeastern Conference expected to make a decision on the new format before the end of the summer.

Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated wrote a piece detailing Saban's thoughts on the format as well as Alabama's potential three permanent opponents, which had been leaked to him.

Saban is for the new format; a 3-3-6 model that features three permanent conference opponents, three non-conference opponents, and six rotating conference opponents every season.

However, he is not a big fan of the group of permanent rivals the SEC may have in store for Alabama.

“I’ve always been an advocate for playing more [conference] games,” Saban says. “But if you play more games, I think you have to get the three fixed [opponents] right. They’re giving us Tennessee, Auburn and LSU. I don’t know how they come to that [decision].”

The Vols, Tigers and Tigers have been respectable league rivals of the Tide for the past decade, and Alabama has still taken care of business against all three. Saban has won 24 out of the last 30 games vs the trio over the last ten seasons... and yet, he does not like the thought of having to play them every season.

Even though right now, they already do.

“We got three teams and two of them are in the top 10 and the other is in the top 10 a lot,” Saban adds. “Look historically over a 25-year history, and the three best teams in the East are Georgia, Tennessee and Florida. You look historically at 25 years, Alabama, LSU and Auburn are the three best teams in the West. So we’re playing them all.”

The SEC used a 10-year metric to help determine which teams get which three programs as their permanent rivals and the Crimson Tide getting LSU, Auburn and UT is certainly a tough draw.

LSU and Auburn rank third and fourth in the SEC in total wins over the last ten seasons (90 and 79 wins respectively) with Tennessee down at 11th with 68 wins.

Not much would change for Bama underneath a nine-game schedule. The slate already has the potential to become easier due to the fact the Tide will no longer be constrained to the grueling SEC West schedule - with easier opponents potentially mixing and matching in future slates down the line - but Saban seems to have his mind set on balance for all schools in the conference.

“They only did it over 10 years,” Saban says of the metric the SEC used. “Now you’ve got name, image and likeness, which changes that whole dynamic, because it’s who has the most money to pay players, until they change the rules. I like playing more SEC games. I think it’s good for the game and good for the fans. I think they have a better chance to get the parity right doing the eight games. I’m talking about the balance of who has who.”

You can check out what the entire SEC's new permanent opponents could be here.

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