SEC, Big Ten talk scheduling agreement

College football’s two most powerful conferences are reportedly discussing a scheduling agreement that could potentially lead to a significant revenue windfall.

Per a USA Today report from Matt Hayes on Monday, the SEC and Big Ten conferences are in talks to schedule as many as 12 to 16 regular season nonconference games every year. The games could take the form of similar conference v. conference competitions in college basketball, like the ACC-SEC Challenge.

This season, the two conferences played just three nonconference games against each other, USC-LSU, Alabama-Wisconsin, and Texas-Michigan. All three games finished among the top-10 most watched during the first month of the season when the majority of nonconference matchups are played, signaling the potential financial strength of an arrangement.

The scheduling agreement is seen as one way to recoup the billions in lost revenue from a recent House settlement requiring schools to pay former players.

Details about a potential deal remain sparse, and there will be plenty of wrinkles to iron out. One major hurdle will be the structure of the agreement. How will revenue be shared between the conferences? And which television networks will want to commit more money to air the marquee games?

Another consideration will be the current schedule structure for the two conferences. The Big Ten plays nine conference games, leaving little wiggle room in the schedule for extra commitments. Many schools have nonconference rivalries to protect as well.

The potential agreement could have far-reaching implications outside the two super-conferences as well. If the Big Ten and SEC begin scheduling more games between each other, that’s fewer opportunities for schools in other conferences to play against those teams.

The reports of a possible arrangement come following a meeting last week in Nashville between representatives from the SEC and Big Ten, including both conference commissioners Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti. “We had a pretty big discussion about the path to play each other more,” Petitti said following the meeting. His SEC counterpart concurred, reflecting on his experience at the Texas-Michigan game earlier this season. “You stand on the sideline prior to kickoff thinking, ‘What if we can do this more with our nonconference games?'”

An arrangement would certainly make sense on paper. Marquee games drive television ratings, and the SEC and Big Ten are as marquee as it gets in college football. But there are still plenty of details to figure out before any sort of scheduling agreement becomes a reality.

[ USA Today ]

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