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This upcoming week feels like restitution for a 10-year sentence that started back in 2014. Imagine being an NFL writer crisscrossing the country for road games. One weekend, you’re headed to Chicago for work. Another, you’re jetting off to San Francisco. Seattle? Gorgeous spots to explore. Miami? Pretty easy to get excited about spending the weekend there. Heck, even Green Bay is dripping with so much football nostalgia, it’s easily one of the most memorable sports destinations I have visited.
Now, fast-forward to covering the University of Texas and the Big 12 travel circuit. Picture my first trip to Lubbock and me thinking, "What is that smell?" Picture me landing in West Virginia, greeted by fans in overalls chugging beer straight out of a boot. Or how about the time I arrived early at the Manhattan, Kansas airport, where the same person unlocking the gate was also head of security - in what I’m pretty sure was a two or three-man operation, max.
That’s why the SEC spring meetings feel like the ultimate payoff after years of enduring lackluster work trips. The meetings are held in Destin, Florida, home to crystal blue water and white sand, which pretty much demands I set up shop on a lounge chair, margarita in hand (with Tajin on the rim, of course). Only a limited number of media members are allowed, which means fewer rambling press questions. And on top of that, the SEC runs it like a well-oiled machine - it’s a first-class operation from start to finish.
The biggest question this week isn’t, "Will I fall asleep on the beach and miss the SEC announcing a $1 trillion deal to play against aliens in space?"
No, the real question is: Could this finally be the year the SEC announces it’s moving to a nine-game conference schedule?
The SEC has been weighing the benefits of moving away from an eight-game conference schedule to a nine-game slate for the past couple of years. Last year, SEC programs debated whether or not to make that change during the spring meetings. Ultimately, a decision was made to stay with eight games and see if that would help or hurt the conference in getting as many teams as possible into the college football playoffs.
“We continue to monitor changes across college sports as they relate to future scheduling,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey in 2024. “Continuing with our current format for the 2025 season provides additional time to understand the impact of the changes happening around us as we determine the appropriate long-term plan for SEC football scheduling.”
Two years ago, back when it felt like moving to a nine-game schedule seemed like a sure thing, the SEC office quietly sketched out three permanent annual opponents for each school. They gave major weight to historic rivalries, but they also ran a parity formula that looked at each program’s record over the past decade to try and keep things balanced. The league never officially released those matchups, but outlets like The Athletic reported the following pairings:
Alabama: Auburn, LSU, Tennessee
Arkansas: Missouri, Ole Miss, Texas
Auburn: Alabama, Georgia, Vanderbilt
Florida: Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina
Georgia: Auburn, Florida, Kentucky
Kentucky: Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina
LSU: Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
Mississippi State: Kentucky, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
Missouri: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt
Oklahoma: Florida, Missouri, Texas
Ole Miss: Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State
South Carolina: Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee
Texas: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M
Texas A&M: LSU, Mississippi State, Texas
Tennessee: Alabama, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt: Auburn, Missouri, Tennessee
It’s unclear if these would still hold if the SEC finally rolls out a nine-game schedule in 2026 or later. Two years have passed, and the league could easily rerun the parity formula using updated records. Plus, several athletic directors and coaches have changed, including at Alabama, where Nick Saban pushed back on the Tide’s proposed opponents, one reason Alabama’s brass reportedly grew more hesitant about moving to nine conference games.
One nice thing about the proposed format is that it could be revisited every four years. So if certain teams end up with a harder or easier draw, or if rivalries shift (maybe because ESPN spots some juicy TV matchups), the conference could reshuffle the permanent opponents for the 2030-33 cycle.
According to The Athletic’s Seth Emerson, the biggest holdup isn’t just about scheduling - it’s about how the College Football Playoff is structured. Last season exposed some cracks. When the SEC scrapped divisions, it created more marquee matchups and boosted TV ratings, which ESPN was more than happy to pay for. But the flip side? It also fed the narrative that SEC heavyweights were just cannibalizing each other, with only three teams making the playoff cut. Meanwhile, Alabama, Ole Miss, and South Carolina - all sitting at 9–3 - were left on the outside looking in. Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne even issued a statement afterward, saying the school would be reassessing how it handles scheduling moving forward.
One possible solution on the table is giving conferences automatic playoff spots.
The Big Ten has been the loudest voice pushing that idea, but the SEC hasn’t shut the door on it either. Under the most talked-about plan, both the SEC and Big Ten would get four guaranteed playoff berths each year. That kind of safety net would make adding a ninth conference game a lot less risky. But momentum for that plan seems to have fizzled lately - or at least hit a slowdown. The next key meeting for CFP decision-makers is set for mid-June, and until something shakes loose there, the SEC’s scheduling debates will likely stay in a holding pattern.
I recently spoke with officials behind the scenes at Texas, and they are hopeful the league will move to nine conference games sooner rather than later. Texas was not impacted by only having eight conference games last year. Texas had conference home games against Mississippi State, Georgia, Florida, and Kentucky.
However, Texas will have only three conference home games this season – Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and Texas A&M. The nonconference games are against San Jose State, UTEP, and Sam Houston State, which results in a pretty lackluster slate of home games on paper this season.
Since Texas versus Oklahoma is played on a neutral field, Texas will always have one less conference game at home every other year with an eight-game league schedule.
Of course, there is a financial incentive for the league to move to nine conference games.
Here is a portion of a recent story in The Athletic:
“ESPN has indicated a willingness to increase its payment to the SEC if the conference adds a ninth game to its league football schedule, sources briefed on the matter told The Athletic.
“There is no formal offer yet, those sources added, and the exact amount of the increase still needs to be fully negotiated. But the sources said the additional money would likely be in the range of $50-80 million annually on top of the current deal, in which ESPN pays the conference $811 million per year to broadcast its sporting events. Both ESPN and the SEC declined to comment.
“A change in ESPN’s stance doesn’t mean the SEC will definitely move to playing nine conference games. Now the main hurdle to expanding the league schedule may be the future College Football Playoff format, which isn’t likely to be determined until at least June. That makes it less likely — though not impossible — that the SEC makes a decision on a schedule format at its spring meetings later this month in Destin, Fla.
“Still, ESPN’s willingness to up its ante is an important development, as it has been one of the main sticking points among enough SEC members to resist the push for nine games. When the SEC announced the addition of Oklahoma and Texas in July 2021, momentum toward a nine-game schedule increased instantly, with commissioner Greg Sankey among those privately in favor. (Sankey finally went public with his preference earlier this year.)
“But for the past four years, members have expressed enough opposition that the conference instead went with a temporary fix of eight-game football schedules for 2024 and ’25, the first two seasons with Oklahoma and Texas. Some of the concern was competitive, especially among teams worried about reaching the six-win bowl eligibility threshold. Some of the concern was economic: A nine-game schedule means schools could play one fewer home game every two years, and they wanted ESPN to help make up the difference.”
I’m packing up for Destin this week, and thank goodness the SEC has finally given us a work trip worth looking forward to.
No strange smells in the air this time - just suntan lotion, salty breezes, and the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
It’s shaping up to be a fun week of remote reporting.
Assuming I don’t overdo it on the margaritas and end up snoring on the beach.
Funniest Things You Will See This Week
Pluckers, you have 24 hours to respond (NFSW/adult humor)
The fellas did not know how to react
Relationship goals
Our brother has real battle wounds
I did not see this coming
Sports On A Dime
1. Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian on how he will assess his roster this summer:
“I think that the reason the way we did winter and the way we did spring ball was really to get us to a point where our summer could now resemble what the summers of the past were. That's why we really wanted to take our time and teach really well in spring ball - to get so many of these new faces kind of up to speed. You know, historically - again, I hate to kind of turn back the clock all the time - but you've got to remember, most of the kids we used to sign didn’t show up until June. And so, you kind of had a split team, right? You had all these vets, and then you had all these new faces, and you kind of had to balance that act. And we didn’t have the ability to be on the field and do any skill development with them."
2. Sarkisian on his freshmen:
“You know, this group - when you get into winter conditioning, the way we had adjusted a little, they had a little more time with Coach Becton before our vets got going again. Because we had played so late, I probably got a little better chance to see them up close. And the first thing that jumped out to me was, okay, we hit the right profiles. Meaning, you know, just about at every position, we have a pretty good profile that we're trying to fit in a box. And it's a little bit of an NFL mentality, but the idea of arm length, hand size, height at certain positions - you know, the measurables that matter.
"Then you watch, you look at that group - it’s a really good-looking group. And then you could see certain players, players at certain kinds of levels of development. And there's nothing wrong with that too, right? Everybody comes in at a different stage. The one thing I'd say about this group is they're very hungry. You know, they're competitive, they're hungry, and they're all really high-character kids. Like, we continue to recruit kids with really high character to help build into that culture that we have going on right now. How many of them really play this fall remains to be seen - and really contribute - but I know a lot of them are knocking on a lot of doors, whether it's on offense, defense, or on special teams. And a few of them have really stood out to where it’s like, we're gonna have a hard time keeping this guy off the field."
3. Sarkisian on the summer schedule:
“Training camp is starting a little earlier again this year because, again, I think we're kicking off August 30. So, it's a process. And, you know, once we get back in June, these guys have to get into the frame of mind that they're not going to be done until the end of January, you know. So it's a long road. It's a long road, and we've got to be cognizant of that. That's why I think this month is important - for them to kind of take a little bit of a deep breath, you know, still get their workouts in, but enjoy some family time before they get back rolling again.”
4. With this prediction, ON3’s college football writer Ari Wasserman has emerged as the favorite reporter in our new network. Wasserman believes Texas has more talent than every program standing in its way - including Georgia during the regular season - and told me he intends to stick with his Texas prediction until proven otherwise.
5. PFF.com ranked Texas’s running back room No. 3 entering the 2025 season. Penn State was ranked No. 1, followed by Notre Dame. Do you agree?
3. Texas
While the Longhorns didn’t have a top-10 running back on my list, their backfield is still loaded. Quintrevion Wisner is back for his junior year after placing third among SEC backs in 2024 with 1,060 rushing yards and 695 yards after contact.
Wisner wasn’t even meant to be the starting back last year though. That job was supposed to go to CJ Baxter, who was the top running back recruit in the 2023 class and earned an impressive 74.6 PFF grade during his true freshman season. However, he missed all of 2024 after tearing his LCL and PCL before the season. Baxter looks to now bounce back in his redshirt sophomore campaign.
Texas also has three former four-star recruits at running back in sophomore Jerrick Gibson, redshirt freshman Christian Clark, and true freshman James Simon.
6. No lies detected …
7. Well …
8. ICYMI
9. Meanwhile, at Oklahoma (via OU Daily) …
“OU confirmed to the OU Daily late Thursday what athletic department employees learned via a mass email Wednesday: The university is laying off employees due to the looming realities of starting to share revenue with athletes.
According to the email, which was shared with the Daily by an equipment manager, athletic director Joe Castiglione wrote that OU has reached a critical moment that requires the department to restructure its staff functions, resulting in a ‘limited reduction in force.’
‘This difficult decision was made with great consideration, understanding it impacts our colleagues and their families,’ Castiglione wrote.
Mike Houck, an associate athletic director, wrote Thursday in an email to OU Daily that 5% of 302 full-time, non-student department employees would be cut. That equates to approximately 15 positions and follows what Houck described as significant cost-cutting over the past nine months.
In the email to staffers, Castiglione wrote that he was adjusting his compensation in light of the cuts. Houck declined to specify to the Daily Castiglione’s prior or new salary, saying those would be available only through an open-records request.
‘This is the only expected reduction in force for our department,’ Castiglione wrote in the email. ‘We remain steadfast in our commitment to you and to the mission that drives us: serving our student-athletes and representing the University of Oklahoma with pride and integrity.’
The equipment manager who shared the email with the Daily said Castiglione also sent an email to all athletics employees in March announcing a restructuring of the department, some of which moved extra responsibilities to students.”
10. Austin > Houston
Proud Dad Alert
It has been a fun sports calendar year for the Richardsons.
Maximus recently wrapped up a great soccer season as a goalkeeper and earned a spot on Cap City SC’s MLS Next 13-under team (he is 12). He made the team after a successful tryout process this spring. Max was also invited to try out for the Austin FC Academy team and survived three rounds of cuts, making it to the fourth and final round. He was one of three goalkeepers remaining, and I was informed last week that he did not make the final roster.
However, I am so proud of how he works, relentlessly practices, plays, and carries himself. The future is bright for Max - this is just the beginning - and I cannot wait to see him play for Cap City in the fall.
Titan won his second straight flag football championship, scoring twice during a 14-12 championship game victory that avenged a 27-14 loss to the same team just a week earlier. Sure, it was the 5/6 division - but for him, it was THE Super Bowl.
Here are his highlights – with a pregame pep talk from Warren Sapp (I apologize for small screen):
