SEC sticking to eight-game conference slate in 2024; still looking at long-term options

DESTIN, Fla. (KMIZ)

The Southeastern Conference announced that teams will play in an eight conference games in the 2024 season, as both Texas and Oklahoma join the ranks. The eight-game slate is a one-year solution, but the long-term model hasn't been set yet.

The SEC did announce one change on Thursday evening. The divisions that have split up the two halves of the SEC since 1991 are going away in 2024. The 2023 season will be the last time that the league will crown a East and West champion to play in the SEC Championship. Moving forward, the SEC title game will be a match up between the top two teams in the league at the conclusion of the regular season.

The full Southeastern Conference schedule for 2024 will be announced during a special on SEC Network on June 14. The exact dates will not be included, but fans will know the match ups.

SEC coaches and leaders had long been deciding between an eight-game and nine-game conference schedule. In a statement on Thursday, Sankey said, after debating about the schedule since 2021, the league landed on coming up with a one-year solution, especially in the light of the upcoming expansion of the College Football Playoffs.

"Creating a one-year schedule will provide longer on-ramp to manage football scheduling around existing non-conference commitments of our members," he said. "It will also provide additional time to understand the impact of an expanded College Football Playoff and engage with our media partners as we determine the appropriate long-term plan for SEC football scheduling."

As a reminder: the College Football Playoff committee announced that the postseason will expand to 12 teams in time for the 2024 season.