Everywhere you turn people are assuming two things for the future SEC schedule.
It is ASSUMED that the conference will adopt a nine-game conference schedule in 2024.
It is then assumed that this means that the conference will have what is generally called a 3-6 (or 366) conference schedule. This means each team will have three standing or yearly rivals and the remailing 12 teams will be in two groups that they will play twice over the course of a four-year cycle.
I provided my own version of this in this article:
I also showed a more creative idea which was a 3-2-6-1 plan which was centered around:
- Regional Pods that would have THREE close geographical schools that would be played annually
- TWO Partner schools that would also be played annually
- SIX Rivals that would be played either biennially (3/year) or triennially (2/year)
- FOUR Challengers that would be played quadrennially (1/year)
An underlying point in that article was to highlight that there is NOT consensus of the SEC members on a nine-game or eight-game conference schedule. That proposal gives the conference members an easy way to have the option to flip to a nine game schedule without redoing everything.
IF the conference truly reaches consensus on the nine-game conference schedule, the the 36 model probably makes the most sense.
Here is what I would say to everyone. Isn't it fun to be in the conference that there is so much interest in a schedule that starts in 2024?
There are reasons some schools are still fighting for an eight-game schedule. The structure is key and almost everyone is ASSUMING it will be a 36 model.
I have been looking at a ton of models for the 36 model and many of the proposals people have made. Check that out here and my revised model after looking at all of the proposals here.
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