Big Ten, SEC Exploring Schedule Deal After Rejecting Super League

The Big Ten and SEC say they aren’t interested in heading up a college football super league, but they are intrigued by the prospect of playing more games against each other.

After leaders from the two conferences shot down multiple outside proposals at meetings in Nashville last week, concrete ideas about how the top half of the Power 4 can keep distancing themselves from the rest of the pack are starting to emerge. The Big Ten and SEC are discussing a new scheduling agreement that could include 16 or more games pitting schools from the conferences against each other every football season, according to USA Today.

SEC teams are 2–1 in non-conference games against Big Ten programs this season. The 18-team Big Ten plays nine conference games each season, while the 16-team SEC plays eight—a point of contention with TV partner Disney.

Earlier this year, the Big Ten and SEC formed a joint advisory committee to guide them in the evolving college sports landscape and were able to secure more than half the future revenue from the expanded College Football Playoff. 

A New World?

With 12 spots now available each postseason (and maybe more in the future), scheduling more tough non-conference opponents isn’t as dangerous to a school’s championship hopes as it once was. 

If the conferences were to agree on a scheduling partnership, games at Big Ten campuses would be broadcast on Fox, CBS, or NBC, while matchups at SEC schools would be on ESPN platforms. Without reworking current contracts, any theoretical deal to sell a Big Ten vs. SEC regular-season TV package couldn’t be done until the next decade.