After years of pushback, the SEC is poised to embrace a nine-game conference schedule with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas, which will join the league in 2024 after coming to a $100 million separation agreement with the Big 12.
The shift to nine games is not guaranteed. While the conference will do away with the traditional East-West divisional split with the introduction of the Sooners and Longhorns, the SEC could still retain the current eight-game model that includes one game against a permanent rival.
But one recent change should lead the SEC to abandon the longstanding aversion toward adding a ninth league game.