SEC progressing to a 9-game conference schedule by the 2026 season

Talk of a 9-game conference schedule has been a hot topic for a hot minute for the Southeastern Conference. Texas AD Chris Del Conte has spoken about a time frame on when that could happen.

The Southeastern Conference is reported to be working on a 9-game conference schedule in the future. Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte spoke on Tuesday, saying it wasn't a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

"“We have eight games scheduled right now. We’re working on going to a nine-game schedule, but we have a ways to go with that. I would say this year we have an eight-game schedule. The following year, we have another eight-game schedule. Then we’ll look at going into a nine-game conference schedule.”"

- Texas AD, Chris Del Conte

Texas and Oklahoma will join the SEC for the 2024 season, having announced their plans to move from the Big 12 Conference a few years ago. Moving to a 9-game conference schedule seemed to be a favourable choice, boosting teams' chances of making the playoffs with a potentially stronger schedule for each SEC team.

However, it looks like we may not see that until the 2025 season, with two more seasons of four out-of-conference match-ups.