Texas and Oklahoma Set to Join SEC in 2024: How Will It Affect Scheduling?

The Big 12 approved the Red River Rivals’ departure from the conference in the summer of 2024 as they look to join the SEC.

Conference realignment has been a popular topic in college football over the past few years. With the expansion of the College Football Playoff for the 2024 season, it looks like big changes in the SEC are coming for that season, too. With Texas and Oklahoma joining and making it a 16-team conference, scheduling changes are on the way. What will it look like for Tennessee and the conference as a whole?

Many people are pointing at the possibility of a 3-6-6 schedule. This would involve increasing the conference schedule from eight games to nine and eliminating divisions. Each team in the conference would have three teams they play yearly. For Tennessee, these three teams will likely be traditional rivals in Alabama, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt. 

Georgia will be in the discussion, but these three seem to be the most likely. The Vols would then play each of the other teams every other year, six at a time. The SEC has not officially said that this is their scheduling plan, but it has been the most talked about at this point.

The 2023 schedule will go on as usual, with Tennessee playing eight conference opponents. Even so, the outlook of 2024 will loom over the school and the conference until a clearer plan has been implemented.

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