SEC eliminating divisions, weighing 8- or 9-match versions

The SEC is in ongoing conversations around getting rid of divisions and settling on a scheduling design by the time Texas and Oklahoma be part of the league by 2025, commissioner Greg Sankey stated in the course of his opening push conference at SEC Media Times. The conference continues to be break up on a pair of styles that would consist of both 8 or nine conference game titles. 

“We have to dig a little bit further there with the one division notion in entrance of us,” Sankey mentioned. “We want to understand the impression as a result of the use of analytics on bowl eligibility for our teams who are developing their applications, and College or university Football Playoff entry dependent on the variety of teams that could be incorporated. There are a range of options currently being regarded.” 

The two most prevalent scheduling models reviewed have been an eight-recreation routine with one particular long lasting opponent and a nine-activity program with 3 permanent opponents. In a league with many historic rivalries, acquiring three everlasting opponents could be appealing. Texas, for illustration, has historic rivalries with Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Alabama has each Auburn and Tennessee as conventional rivals. These lists would be whittled to one in an 8-sport agenda. 

As the league becomes more powerful with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, nonetheless, leaving the door open up for winnable nonconference video games may grow to be more interesting for the league’s lower course. For a school like South Carolina, which currently plays Clemson as a nonconference opponent, playing 10 Electrical power 5 video games in a 12-video game season may well demonstrate a Herculean job. Eight games could be extra beautiful.

“When I go through 6 distinctive groups obtaining won nationwide championships in the last 25 years or so, no 1 comes near to that number,” Sankey reported. “So the level of competitors below, even though people want to be a element of it, we’re attentive and sensitive to that.” 

The SEC and ACC are the only two Power 5 leagues to perform eight meeting video games. Nevertheless, limiting the amount of meeting game titles has been a enormous edge for the SEC’s middle course. Thirteen of the league’s 14 teams gained a bowl vacation in 2021. Florida, in simple fact, achieved the postseason regardless of going 2-6 in convention enjoy. 

Irrespective, there will be a renewed target on making an attempt to play a timetable that seems to be like a single unified meeting. Texas A&M, notably, did not play Ga right until 7 decades in the league. The Aggies to day have continue to never ever hosted the Bulldogs. The current program set up lets up to 12 years between cross-divisional opponents. Any product will check out to get rid of that lag. 

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The SEC has performed in a divisional composition given that South Carolina and Arkansas joined the league in 1992, and it has fielded eight convention online games each individual yr because. In latest many years, each and every SEC squad has been requested to play a Electrical power Five nonconference game, even though faculties like South Carolina (Clemson) and Georgia (Ga Tech) earlier had extensive standing inter-meeting rivalry game titles. 

In addition to long-lasting opponents, producing equitable tiebreaker procedures in a 16-group league stays a leading precedence. With 16 teams, conference championships – and perhaps Faculty Soccer Playoff berths – could be resolved by meeting bylaws. 

“We have over a quarter century in division and we recognize all the nuances about how to break ties,” Sankey explained. “

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