Florida AD Scott Stricklin outlines biggest challenges in SEC scheduling model talks

As the SEC meetings continue this week and fans around the country wait with baited breath over whether the league will adopt a new SEC scheduling model for the 2024 season, details continue to leak that provide some insight.

One of the biggest came from Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin, who joined Paul Finebaum on set in Destin on Tuesday afternoon.

“I wish I had an answer to when it’s going to get resolved, but it’s a really healthy conversation and there’s a lot of thoughts and really strong opinions, but really well-meaning opinions on both sides,” Stricklin said.

The SEC is essentially debating the merits of a nine-game conference schedule versus an eight-game slate, as well as when a switch might be implemented should the league add another conference game.

But the SEC scheduling model is also taking into consideration how things might look when the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams in the 2024 season.

And there’s buzz emerging that the SEC could delay any potential move to nine conference games until they see what the new CFP looks like.

“There’s some thought of what’s going to happen with the 12-team playoff,” Stricklin said. “We think the committee is going to recognize strength of schedule as a key component. They give lip service to that. Are they really going to do that?

“I have been on the committee and I can tell you from having been on the committee that there are people in the room that get enamored with shiny records maybe sometimes at the expense of a team that has two or three losses. So it’ll be interesting to see what happens there. There’s some conversation going on related to that.”

In other words, if the CFP committee is really giving strength of schedule a fair shake in the 12-team model, the SEC would likely feel more comfortable expanding to a nine-game slate in the future.

If not, things could get a lot more dicey.

Then there are other considerations like whether the league’s TV deal payouts would increase with the addition of an additional conference game in the SEC scheduling model or not, as well as how to actually go about implementing a nine-game slate if it’s adopted.

There are a lot of hurdles, not the least of which is making schedules work with games that are already on the docket. But the SEC is also feeling more pressure to make a move at this point, given how close some of these additions are to becoming reality.

“I do think the timing plays into that. I mentioned a year ago we sat here and we said, ‘Let’s take some more time, let’s figure out what’s going on in the CFP,'” Stricklin said. “We had till ’25. That’s been sped up on us. And actually the fact it’s been sped up I think makes it a little more challenging because all of us, I would say, have a full non-conference slate scheduled for next year that includes an eight-game SEC schedule.

“You can get through contracts, you can adjust. We showed in 2020 you can adapt. But it’s not an easy thing to do. It’s a challenge. So I think the timing plays into it.”

As for himself, Stricklin seems to prefer a nine-game SEC scheduling model.

“I have always been in favor of the more we can play one another the better it is for our sport, for our athletes, for our fans,” he said. “Eventually I hope we’ll get to nine games. I don’t know when that’s going to be.”