The announcement was made Thursday by SEC associate commissioner Mark Whitworth, who oversees men’s basketball, at the Sandestin Hilton Resort. Under the new format, which will maintain the league’s 18-game conference schedule, each team will play the other 13 SEC teams at least once during league play before playing their three permanent opponents a second time. The remaining two league games will be scheduled on a rotating basis.
The new scheduling model is a change from previous years, when each SEC team had just one permanent opponent.
“(SEC commissioner Mike Slive) has challenged us with trying to evaluate any things we can do to enhance our sport,” Whitworth said.