The biggest question from Auburn fans surrounding the SEC’s newly announced nine-game format for conference football schedules is, “who will Auburn’s third permanent conference rival be?”
The good news is that the answer could be revealed in a few short months.
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SEC commissioner Greg Sankey revealed the projected timeline for the release of the newly formatted schedule during a recent episode of the Paul Finebaum Show. Sankey told host Finebaum that he plans to share the schedule with member programs during the midway point of the football season, with the public release slated for December.
Sankey admits to Finebaum that putting together the schedule will require plenty of planning, but the SEC office plans to be swift with their work.
“There’s been a lot of pre-work. We have had great work among our staff. … We’ll be rapid, but remember, when we went in Destin two years ago, we took a couple more weeks and we had that mid-June announcement of opponents. And then, we had a later announcement of the schedule. So we want to create opportunities for interest and celebration, and we’ll do much the same in the weeks and months ahead.”
The SEC revealed this week that its football teams will implement a nine-game conference slate beginning in 2026 and will require each team to play one non-conference game against a team from the Big Ten, ACC, or Big 12 conferences, as well as Notre Dame, which ensures each team will play 10 games against Power opponents.
The new format will feature three permanent opponents for each team, with the six remaining games played on a rotational basis. Auburn will face every SEC team at least once every two years, and will visit every SEC team’s home stadium once every four years. The revamped conference schedule format will allow Auburn to re-kindle rivalries with teams such as Florida, LSU, and Tennessee, three teams that the Tigers have not played in at least two football seasons.
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Auburn Athletic Director John Cohen says that he is in favor of the new schedule format, which mirrors that of the Big Ten and Big 12, that is designed to put SEC teams in a better position to compete for deep runs in the College Football Playoff while preserving the rivalries that hold major historical value within the conference.
“The new schedule format, which mirrors that of the Big Ten and Big 12, will put SEC teams in a better position to compete for deep runs in the College Football Playoff while preserving the rivalries that hold major historical value within the conference,” Cohen said.
It is assumed that Auburn will keep Alabama and Georgia on its schedule for the 2026 season and beyond, but the question surrounding the mystery third permanent team remains active. Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY Sports suggested that Vanderbilt would be a great option to balance the challenges of playing Alabama and Georgia every year. The possibility of playing more local teams such as Mississippi State and Florida remains alive also.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: SEC commissioner Greg Sankey shares timeline for 2026 schedule release
