The SEC has officially announced that its league members will play a nine-game conference football schedule beginning with the 2026 season.
“Adding a ninth SEC game underscores our universities’ commitment to delivering the most competitive football schedule in the nation,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “This format protects rivalries, increases competitive balance, and paired with our requirement to play an additional Power opponent, ensures SEC teams are well prepared to compete and succeed in the College Football Playoff.”
Below are details of the new SEC nine-game scheduling format:
The SEC will continue with a single-standings, non-divisional structure;
Each school will play three annual opponents focused on maintaining many traditional rivalries;
Each team’s remaining six games will rotate among the remaining conference schools; and
Each team will face every other SEC program at least once every two years and every opponent home and away in four years.
Beginning in 2026, Georgia and other SEC teams will play a nine-game conference schedule with three non-conference opponents. One of those three non-conference opponents is still required to be from one of the other power conferences — ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12 — or be a major independent (i.e. Notre Dame).
“The SEC has established itself as the leader in delivering the most compelling football schedule in college athletics,” Sankey said. “Fans will see traditional rivalries preserved, new matchups more frequently, and a level of competition unmatched across the nation.”
Georgia should not have to make any adjustments to their 2026 football schedule, as it only had three non-conference games on the schedule (WKU, Louisville, and Georgia Tech). A reported game against Tennessee State in 2026 has never been officially contracted.