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With college football schedules across the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the SEC will announce Thursday afternoon that it will move to a 10-game schedule, conference-only for the 2020 season, according to AL.com and Illustrated Sports. The SEC will also kick start its season through Saturday, September 26, which was originally scheduled for Week 4 of the 2020 campaign.
It is unknown at this time how the SEC will complete the two additional games on its conference-only schedule. League members traditionally play eight league games each season: six within their respective divisions, a permanent cross-division opponent, and a rotating cross-division opponent.
With the season change to September 26, the SEC championship game will be delayed two weeks until Saturday, December 19.
The 14 SEC presidents met virtually Thursday to make this scheduling decision the day after the league’s athletic directors proposed to stick with a conference-only model.
The SEC joins Big Ten and Pac-12 in deciding to play a conference-only schedule in 2020. The ACC announced Wednesday that it will play an 11-game schedule with 10 in-league contests and one game without a conference.
It is unknown at this time how the SEC decision may affect ACC’s scheduling plans considering four key games of rivalry without a conference (Florida-Florida State, Clemson-South Carolina, Georgia-Georgia Tech, Kentucky-Louisville) will be lost by the SEC move. Auburn was also set to play for North Carolina this season.
Other remaining conference-less marquee games with SEC teams this season were LSU-Texas and Tennessee-Oklahoma. The Big 12 has yet to announce firm plans for its 2020 calendars, although losing those games may affect your decision-making process.
CBS Sports will update this breaking news shortly.
