Kentucky Football 2024 SEC Opponents Revealed

The 2024 Kentucky football schedule is not complete, but we do now know who the Wildcats will face in the first year of the 16-team Southeastern Conference.

In a primetime event on the SEC Network, Greg Sankey shared who will play where during the 2024 SEC football season. Specific dates were not disclosed as some schools work to accommodate non-conference opponents. Prior to Wednesday, this is when the Wildcats were slated to play non-SEC foes:

• Aug. 31 at Akron
• Sept. 21 vs. Ohio
• Nov. 16 vs. Murray State
• Nov. 30 vs. Louisville

The Formula: How the 2024 SEC Conference Opponents were determined ⤵️#SECFB pic.twitter.com/h40TTXBr0Y

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) June 14, 2023

Kentucky Football 2024 SEC Opponents

Prior to expansion, Texas A&M was scheduled to make its first trip to Kroger Field since the Aggies joined the league in 2012. Instead, another former Big 12 team, Texas, will be on Kentucky’s 2024 schedule in with a trip to Austin. The only other time the Wildcats faced the Longhorns, Bear Bryant’s 1951 team fell 7-6 in the Lone Star State.

Kentucky avoids Alabama, but will host Georgia and bring the Vanderbilt Commodores to Kroger Field. The rivalry game against Tennessee remains intact.

• Texas (away)
• Florida (away)
• Ole Miss (away)
• Tennessee (away)
• South Carolina (home)
• Vanderbilt (home)
• Auburn (home)
• Georgia (home)

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Win for Mark Stoops

Wednesday night’s roll out was the culmination of a lengthy battle behind the scenes that resulted in a victory for Mitch Barnhart, Eli Capilouto, and maybe most importantly, Mark Stoops. Since the announcement of the Texas and Oklahoma additions, there has been debate and discussion about how the conference should schedule its opponents.

Fans and outspoken media members pushed for a 9-game SEC schedule, with each team face three-rivals annually, rotating the other six opponents. Kentucky led the charge to keep the 8-game SEC schedule, maintaining one permanent rival and rotating the seven other opponents on a two-year basis. Each format allows for member schools to travel to every SEC campus within a four-year period.

At this year’s edition of the SEC Spring Meetings, Kentucky used ESPN’s inability to guarantee more money with an extra conference game and the expanded 12-team CFB Playoff to convince the league to kick the can down the road. This 8-game model will be a temporary solution for the SEC, one that could change for the 2025 season. But for now, the Battle for the Governor’s Cup remains intact for at least one more season as the SEC grows to 16 members.