Indiana AD Scott Dolson Weighs in on SEC's Move to 9 Conference Games

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Hours after announcing a 20-year, $50 million deal with Merchants Bank to settle the naming rights for the field at Memorial Stadium, Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson was back on his phone Thursday night for a different reason.

The SEC announced Thursday it is moving to nine conference games in 2026, matching the Big Ten and Big 12 after historically playing just eight conference opponents each season.

Dolson said he spoke to an SEC athletic director who was pleased with the decision.

"I think they feel really good they have clarity now that they are moving to nine," Dolson said. "And now that they have clarity on that, I think that certainly helps as you evaluate the options moving forward for the CFP."

Dolson added it's "great" for the SEC, but also beneficial for the Big Ten and College Football Playoff. The two conferences are collaborating to decide the future College Football Playoff format.

The Big Ten wants a 4-4 automatic qualifier format, where the top four teams from the SEC and Big Ten get automatic bids, while the SEC wants a 5+11 format, granting bids to the highest-ranked conference champions plus 11 at-large bids.

Dolson said the Big Ten is open to ideas, but he sides with Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and values making late-regular-season games meaningful.

Yet regardless of whether the SEC ultimately caves in to the Big Ten's preferred format, Dolson believes both conferences playing the same number of league games will ease discussions.

"I really think the more clarity the SEC has now on the regular season certainly helps as we talk to them and collaborate with them on what we feel ultimately that final model for the CFP will look like," Dolson said. "And we look forward to that."

Dolson, Petitti and the Big Ten have emphasized removing pressure from the College Football Playoff selection committee. Dolson has been in deliberation rooms where committees are deciding between teams who had no head-to-head games nor faced any common opponents.

Data becomes the deciding factor, and it makes the process "super hard," Dolson said. But with the automatic qualifier format, the Big Ten believes playoff spots would be decided more on the field and less in committee meetings.

The SEC's move to nine conference games helps add uniformity to schedule conversations, and it may lead to a trickle-down effect that completely alters Indiana's non-conference schedule.

The Hoosiers finalized their out-of-conference opponents through the end of the 2020s, and they won't face a high-major opponent until Notre Dame in 2030.

Amid cancellations with the University of Louisville, University of Connecticut and University of Virginia, Dolson and the Hoosiers have tailored their non-conference schedule around the current College Football Playoff format.

But as the format undergoes potential changes, so could Indiana's out-of-conference slate.

"Our future scheduling will be based on how that CFP model ends up," Dolson said, "and how we can position ourself as best possible to have a schedule (that) enables us to prepare for the Big Ten and ultimately put ourselves in position for postseason play.

"We're on a month-to-month basis and will continue to evaluate that as things change."

And that's merely the reality of an ever-changing college football landscape that, in the span of two hours Thursday evening, saw Indiana land a $50 million naming right's deal and the SEC change a fundamental scheduling philosophy.

The College Football Playoff format may be the next domino to fall — and while details around if, or when, remain unclear, Dolson believes the path grew clearer Thursday night.

Related stories on Indiana football