SEC Plans Permanent Annual Rivalries for 2026 Nine-Game Football Schedule

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is set to unveil its new nine-game conference football schedule for the 2026 season, following the addition of Oklahoma and Texas and the elimination of East and West divisions. Each of the 16 SEC teams will have three "annual opponents," permanent rivals whose identities will be announced and reviewed every four years to maintain competitive balance and accommodate evolving rivalries. The remaining six conference opponents will rotate, ensuring that every team faces all others at least once every two years and hosts them at home every four years. This scheduling change aligns with trends in other Power Five conferences and supports potential expansion of the College Football Playoff to 16 teams, with the SEC advocating for a model that includes five automatic bids and 11 at-large teams. The SEC will also mandate that teams play at least one non-conference Power Five opponent annually. Fans and analysts have speculated on who the annual opponents might be, with traditional rivalries such as Alabama-Auburn and Tennessee-Vanderbilt expected to be preserved.