Football, as the late, great George Carlin once joked, is rigidly timed.
So is the decision-making process when it comes to deciding on a scheduling format for the soon-to-expand Southeastern Conference.
It maybe doesn’t seem that way at first glance. The SEC has kicked the schedule format down the road for quite a while.
SEC schools were poised to vote on a format at last year’s spring meeting in Destin, Florida, but held off.
At the time that looked like procrastination, but the decision proved wise. Since then, the CFP finally expanded from four to 12 teams and the Big 12 Conference released Texas and Oklahoma a year early to join the SEC to form a 16-team superconference, which necessitated a new scheduling format in the first place.
The 14 current SEC athletic directors met Monday through Wednesday in Rosemary Beach, Florida, (Texas and OU do not get a vote on any policy until they officially join on July 1, 2024). Not surprisingly, the ADs left the beaches with sand in their shoes but without a decision, though the conference is down to two options: a nine-game schedule with three permanent opponents or an eight-game schedule with one permanent rival.
A vote later this month at this year’s SEC Spring Meeting is possible, though still not a definite article. But the time has come to vote. Not only do Texas and Oklahoma have to be worked into schedules for the 2024 season, but if the nine-game format is adopted, every SEC school is going to have to dump one non-conference game. It’s possible some remaining non-conference games will also have to be shifted.
Even if the eight-game schedule stays, change is coming. East and West divisions end after the 2023 season. And instead of playing seven permanent opponents with one rotating opponent as will happen this season for the last time (six divisional foes plus one from the other division), the schedule format would flip and teams would only have one permanent rival.
There is reportedly a pretty even split between moving to a nine-game schedule or retaining an eight-game slate. LSU, like most SEC football powers, is in the nine-game camp. Nine games means one less boring non-conference rent-a-win to schedule and more inventory for ESPN/ABC/Disney, which will have the entire SEC television package starting next season (CBS is out after 2023).
More inventory also means more money. The SEC and ESPN signed a deal that will reportedly pay the conference $811 million per year for 10 years before Texas and OU signed on. According to The Athletic, an expansion clause in the deal could raise the value of the contract to $927 million per year.
Eight games also means losing a bunch of juicy rivalries. One permanent opponent means LSU no longer plays Alabama every year because it of course would play Auburn. But Auburn also wouldn’t play LSU or Georgia. Alabama wouldn’t play Tennessee. Who would be LSU’s permanent? In a nine-game slate it’s expected to be Bama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. But Ole Miss surely would play Mississippi State every year. That would possibly leave LSU with A&M, which then wouldn’t play Texas every year.
So why do some schools, and Alabama coach Nick Saban (who doesn’t like having to play LSU, Auburn and Tennessee), want to stay with eight? Some schools, like Kentucky, aren’t involved in multiple rivalries and eight SEC games leaves room to schedule one more winnable non-conference game. Even with an expanded CFP, bowl eligibility is still an important issue.
Common sense — and financial realities — say the nine-game slate will win out. But if it’s indeed an 8-8 split as has been suggested, the arm twisting in Destin could be intense.
Meanwhile, the CFP has picked a schedule format. The 2023 season will lead into the last four-team playoff, with New Year’s Day semifinals in the Sugar and Rose bowls and the CFP Championship Game on Jan. 8 in Houston.
Then it’s the huge expansion to 12 teams starting in Dec. 2024. There will be four first-round games at home sites the weekend before Christmas (Dec. 20-21), followed by quarterfinals on New Year’s weekend in the Sugar, Rose, Peach and Fiesta bowls. Semifinals will be Thursday, Jan. 9 and Friday, Jan. 10 in the Orange and Cotton bowls, a strange setup designed to avoid going head-to-head with the NFL playoffs’ wild-card round. The CFP final will be pushed way back to Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 in Atlanta.
The Sugar Bowl will also host a quarterfinal on New Year’s Day 2025 (the SEC-Big 12 tie in is no more) and one assumes will get a semifinal after the 2026 season. When the CFP title game returns to New Orleans is anyone’s guess.
Whether or not it makes sense to play CFP semifinals in the middle of the week remains to be seen. But at least the CFP has a plan.
It’s high time for SEC schools to agree on a schedule format. And the only logical decision to make is to go with nine games.
CFP schedule next three seasons
2023 season (4-team playoff)
Semifinals
Monday, Jan. 1
Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl
CFP Championship
Monday, Jan. 8
Houston
2024 season (12-team playoff)
First round (home sites)
Friday, Dec. 20: one game
Saturday, Dec. 21: three games
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Dec. 31
Fiesta Bowl
Wednesday, Jan. 1
Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl
Semifinals
Thursday, Jan. 9
Orange Bowl
Friday, Jan. 10
Cotton Bowl
CFP Championship
Monday, Jan. 20
Atlanta
2025 season (12-team playoff)
First round (home sites)
Friday, Dec. 19: one game
Saturday, Dec. 20: three games
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Dec. 31
Cotton Bowl
Thursday, Jan. 1
Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl
Semifinals
Thursday, Jan. 8
Fiesta Bowl
Friday, Jan. 9
Peach Bowl
CFP Championship
Monday, Jan. 19
Miami
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