SEC 'Leaning Heavily' On Moving Toward New Division Model
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has a plan for the future of the conference with the additions of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners.
Sankey said Thursday that the conference is "leaning" to move to a one-division model with the additions of two new programs starting in 2025. No deal has been finalized as of this time.
In September during a visit to Kyle Field, Sankey told reporters that the SEC would "explore all options" in terms of benefitting each program with the new 16-team model. One idea expressed was to keep the East and West division, though perhaps move one program to the other side in hopes of keeping rivalries alive.
A four-team pod system was also suggested, though Sankey said the process wouldn't be ideal due to the parameters that would affect the home vs. home series in the future.
“The real debate is eight or nine games,” Sankey said during Texas A&M's 24-17 win over Miami. “That doesn’t mean divisions are completely erased from our consideration, but they’re not at the forefront of our thinking.”
The SEC currently features two seven-team divisions. With Oklahoma and Texas set to join on July 1, 2025, conversations erupted on whether the two schools should be separated or kept together. In the current model plan, Sankey said that each team would have anywhere between "one-to-three" permanent rivals.
Sankey said one of the biggest factors that could determine the final verdict include potential College Football Playoff expansion and the Big Ten media agreement to make final scheduling decisions. The Big Ten also will be expanding in 2024 with the additions of west coast programs USC and UCLA.
Sankey said the 2025 schedule and beyond will likely be conference-wide, allowing programs to open their horizons past the common schedule. Sankey noted that this past season, Missouri traveled to Auburn for the first time since joining the conference in 2012.
This would allow schools like Georgia to travel to Texas A&M, Texas and Oklahoma. The Bulldogs have yet to travel to Kyle Field since the Aggies joined the conference in 2012.
“We right now are not thinking about maintaining a two-division format for football scheduling in the SEC,” Sankey said. "It would potentially be one single division with the idea that we want to rotate our teams through our campuses more frequently. We have big brands with big interest and large following ... that want to go to places like Fayetteville, Arkansas or have their fans come to Columbia, South Carolina."
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