ESPN 98.1 FM – 850 AM WRUF ESPN 98.1 FM – 850 AM WRUF
Thursday, the Southeastern Conference announced each school will play eight conference games and one opponent from another Power Five conference beginning in 2024. Additionally, the East and West divisions will be eliminated. When Texas and Oklahoma join, the top two teams in the conference will face off in the SEC Championship. This design is set to be in place only for the 2024 college football season.
https://twitter.com/On3sports/status/1664387249226612738
The Impacts of Texas and Oklahoma Joining the SEC
Texas and Oklahoma have been set to come to the SEC for the past few years now. This is a huge move because these are two programs that bring in talent, viewership and revenue. The SEC will be loaded with some of the nations largest and historic programs.
Adding the two teams to an established division was highly opposed because of the difficulty of schedules. There were discussions of 4-team pods being implemented based on geographical location. This could still be the long term solution, but the SEC will hold off on an announcement until next season.
How the Gators are Affected by the Division Change
Although it hasn’t been announced yet, the Gators will most likely play their annual rivalry game against Georgia. Other than that, there are no confirmed conference games that will be locked in each season. It is unknown if the team will face off with Texas or Oklahoma when they join the SEC.
The Gators will come into the 2024 season with, as it stands now, one of their best recruiting classes ever. They have one of the best quarterbacks in the 2024 class and highly talented pieces committed to come play football at Florida. If the Gators are matched up with an SEC juggernaut or one of the new teams, expect a highly competitive conference, as usual.
