SEC Heading Toward One-Division Model

Once the league reaches 16 teams with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas, the SEC will no longer be divided into the Western and Eastern divisions.

ATLANTA — The Southeastern Conference has gone through several different changes and expansions since the league was first founded in 1932. 

But with the latest (and arguably) greatest expansion coming with Texas and Oklahoma joining the league by 2025, the familiar SEC model of the last 30 years will be no more. 

When Arkansas and South Carolina joined the SEC in the early 90s, the conference adopted divisions with the six teams in the West and six teams in the East. When Texas A&M and Missouri joined in 2012, the divisions expanded to seven teams each. But with the Longhorns and Sooners coming aboard, making it 16 total teams, two divisions are no longer feasible.

According to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, the future model was first discussed back in August and then later at the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin. 

"When we concluded our discussion in Destin, we had a focus placed on our single-division model with the ability to accommodate either an eight-game or nine-game conference schedule" Sankey said Monday at SEC Media Days.

Since the SEC went to divisions in football in 1992, Alabama has won more division championships and appeared in more SEC title games (14) than any other team. Florida is next closest with 13 from the East. The Crimson Tide also has more SEC championship games win (10) than any other school. 

Tiebreakers are nothing new for the SEC, but rarely have they come into play when it comes to determining division champions. With 16 teams and just one division, tiebreakers are one of the biggest challenges with the new format according to Sankey. He did not indicate specifically what the future of the SEC title game will look like.

Some of the other issues he mentioned included eight vs. nine conference games and how that impacts non-conference scheduling, impacts on bowl eligibility and the level of competition in the SEC. Sankey also wants to make sure that the schools and their fans are getting to travel to the other schools as often as possible.

"If you remember, I have two points when we expanded I wanted to be front and center," Sankey said. "One is that we engage in blue-sky thinking, let's look at the big picture. And the second is that we rotate our teams through campus as frequently as possible so we don't go 12 years between visits."

Sankey was also asked about the possibility of maintaining rivalries with three permanent conference opponents. He said it is under consideration, but there are challenges with that scheduling model.

"There are limits on the number of options available for three permanent opponents based upon the number of games— nine games makes that more practical," Sankey said. 

Texas and Oklahoma are currently scheduled to officially join the SEC July 1, 2025, but with the ever-changing conference landscape it could happen soon. However, Sankey it isn't up to him whether or not the Sooners and Longhorns join earlier.