Report: SEC discussing going to 20 league games in 2025-26 season

The SEC is discussing a 20-game conference basketball schedule, according to multiple reports. They currently play an 18-game model.

If the change were to come, it would be after the 2024-25 college basketball season, sources tell college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein.

The SEC expanded to 16 teams earlier this month with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 Conference. To compensate for the additional programs, two added games per season seems like the most logical way to go if there were to be a change. However, Rothstein’s source said that it’s “too early,” to tell either way.

The ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and Big East all play 20 league games per season, meaning the SEC is the only power conference that plays 18 in-conference matchups.

A similar debate occured on the football side of things, as the SEC was considering expanding to a nine-game league schedule. They ended up deciding that the eight-game model will continue for at least the next two seasons with one mandated game played against a program from another major conference or a “major independent,” which is includes Notre Dame.

However, a recent development has could change how fast an additional league game is implimented.

“Those programs at first against adding a ninth conference game are more interested now in doing so, according to multiple administrators at conference schools — a way to enhance schedules with bigger matchups and generate more cash through ticket sales as well as the television contract with ESPN,” Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger wrote.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey also told Yahoo that the league administrators want to see the first 12-team College Football Playoff shake out before they come to any final decision.

“We will use that as a learning experience and see how the [CFP] committee evaluates competition, rather than doing analytics to predict,” Sankey said. “That sets timing for the first quarter next year.”

The additions of the Sooners and Longhorns will shake up the SEC throughout every sport, as both are premier programs in multiple disciplines. In 2012, when the league added Missouri and Texas A&M, the SEC used two years of temporary scheduling to work on and tinker with the more permanent scheduling rotation. It remains to be seen how they’ll execute in the same situation 12 years later.

The timeline of when the SEC will discuss a 20-game league basketball schedule is unclear as of this report.

On3’s Andrew Graham contributed to this report.