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SEC Announces 2026 Media Days Schedule, Headed to Tampa for First Time

The countdown to college football is on. SEC Media Days heads to Tampa with the 2026 schedule now officially released.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby speaks in the Main Media Room during SEC Media Days at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby speaks in the Main Media Room during SEC Media Days at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Mississippi State Bulldogs

The SEC dropped its appearance schedule for this year’s SEC Football Kickoff Media Days on Wednesday, which is always the first reminder that the next football season is closer than it looks.

July still feels like the middle of summer, but once Media Days shows up on the calendar, the countdown to fall gets a lot more real.

This year’s event runs July 20‑23 and will take place in Tampa, marking the first time the league has brought Media Days to the city. Tampa becomes just the fourth location outside Alabama to host the event, joining Atlanta, Nashville and Dallas.

It’s another sign of how the SEC continues to stretch its footprint and turn Media Days into a traveling showcase.

As usual, the week will bring together every SEC head coach, a handful of players from each program, and media from across the country. It’s the league’s unofficial kickoff to the season. Four days of interviews, storylines, and the annual reminder that whatever happened last fall is officially in the rearview.

A more detailed schedule, including TV windows, daily rotations and the full list of attending players, will come later. For now, the league has simply locked in the order and the dates. SEC Network will once again carry the event wall‑to‑wall.

And while July still feels a long way off, this is how the ramp‑up always starts.

One schedule release turns into another. Spring ball wraps. Summer workouts begin. Then suddenly Media Days arrives, and the season that felt months away is right around the corner.

The 2026 season isn’t here yet, but announcements like this are the first hint that it’s coming fast.

Monday, July 20

Kentucky – Will Stein
Missouri – Eliah Drinkwitz
Oklahoma - Brent Venables
Tennessee – Josh Heupel

Tuesday, July 21

Auburn – Alex Golesh
Georgia – Kirby Smart
South Carolina – Shane Beamer
Vanderbilt – Clark Lea

Wednesday, July 22

Alabama – Kalen DeBoe
Florida – Jon Sumrall
Ole Miss – Pete Golding
Texas A&M – Mike Elko

Thursday, July 23

Arkansas – Ryan Silverfield
LSU – Lane Kiffin
Mississippi State – Jeff Lebby
Texas – Steve Sarkisian

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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