BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- At least four SEC football teams could change "permanent" cross-divisional opponents when the conference soon releases its 2013 schedule, SEC Executive Associate Commissioner Mark Womack said today.
Womack would not discuss which teams could flip who they annually play from the opposite division. SEC schools are currently reviewing the projected 2013 schedule.
"There's a possibility of changing permanent partners," Womack said. "It will be in order to balance the schedule toward the end of the schedule (rotation). The schedule will probably be coming by the end of the week."
At the SEC spring meetings in June, the league adopted a 6-1-1 format for the foreseeable future. Teams play all six divisional opponents, one permanent cross-division team and one rotating cross-division opponent.
That format was done largely to protect the annual Alabama-Tennessee and Auburn-Georgia games. Arkansas-Missouri and South Carolina-Texas A&M were added as permanent rivalry games, joining LSU-Florida, Mississippi State-Kentucky and Ole Miss-Vanderbilt.
Womack said that only the 2013 SEC schedule will soon be released. A 12-year format will likely be created so schools know who's coming on and off schedules, but dates beyond 2013 won't be attached yet, he said.
The SEC has faced numerous scheduling challenges since adding Texas A&M and Missouri. For instance, this season Alabama plays four of its six divisional games at home, whereas Texas A&M has just two at home.
"Those are things we're working on with creating some kind of balance," Womack said. "But how they rotate on and off your schedule to get that balance is a little challenging, especially in years when you have a lot of nonconference games already under contract. The further out you go, the more flexibility you have."
Repeat games at the same stadium are possible again for 2013, Womack said. That's a byproduct of scheduling every team for an equal number of home-and-away divisional games and total SEC games.
This season, Missouri travels to Texas A&M for the third straight year (two seasons came when they were in the Big 12), and Mississippi State played at Kentucky in consecutive years.
"We had that back when we expanded in '92 where it calls for some repeat venues to get the balance on board," Womack said. "I think what you want is to take as few repeats as you can and take them as early in the schedule (rotation) as you can."
Womack said the SEC won't necessarily return to certain scheduling parameters as it had prior to expansion. Eliminating parameters caused many scheduling quirks in 2012, such as Texas A&M playing three straight SEC road games beginning next week.
"I think we'll probably avoid a lot of that," Womack said. "We tried to keep the same parameters, but given this bridge type of schedule and trying to accommodate requests, there are some things that become unavoidable."
The format SEC athletics directors selected means teams won't immediately play a return game against their rotating opponent. For example, if Georgia plays at Alabama in 2013, the return game to Athens would be several years down the road.
How many years in the future? Womack said it is mathematically impossible for every SEC team to play its rotating opponent exactly once every six years.
"There's a little tweak for that to happen home and away, but it's pretty close to that," he said. "Nothing past six years is the way it will come out for the return game."
That means teams who play as rotating opponents in 2013 would stage the return game by 2019, if not sooner in some cases.
The next two years carry 14-week schedules in college football instead of 13, meaning two byes for every team. Womack said that challenges schedule-makers to spread out the open dates.
Traditional playing dates will be kept "to some degree," Womack said. "I think you try to keep some of those traditional games in the dates they have traditionally been played in."
Most SEC members continue to favor eight conference games, Womack said. Earlier this month, the ACC dropped its plan for nine conference games after adding Notre Dame to play every ACC school five games a year.
"I think you look at what other folks are doing, but our institutions look at the issues they face that impacts their positions on scheduling," Womack said. "I think our guys are always open to looking at things, but at this point in time we're moving forward for the longterm schedule. That doesn't mean that couldn't change during the duration."
Womack would not discuss which teams could flip who they annually play from the opposite division. SEC schools are currently reviewing the projected 2013 schedule.
"There's a possibility of changing permanent partners," Womack said. "It will be in order to balance the schedule toward the end of the schedule (rotation). The schedule will probably be coming by the end of the week."
At the SEC spring meetings in June, the league adopted a 6-1-1 format for the foreseeable future. Teams play all six divisional opponents, one permanent cross-division team and one rotating cross-division opponent.
That format was done largely to protect the annual Alabama-Tennessee and Auburn-Georgia games. Arkansas-Missouri and South Carolina-Texas A&M were added as permanent rivalry games, joining LSU-Florida, Mississippi State-Kentucky and Ole Miss-Vanderbilt.
Womack said that only the 2013 SEC schedule will soon be released. A 12-year format will likely be created so schools know who's coming on and off schedules, but dates beyond 2013 won't be attached yet, he said.
The SEC has faced numerous scheduling challenges since adding Texas A&M and Missouri. For instance, this season Alabama plays four of its six divisional games at home, whereas Texas A&M has just two at home.
"Those are things we're working on with creating some kind of balance," Womack said. "But how they rotate on and off your schedule to get that balance is a little challenging, especially in years when you have a lot of nonconference games already under contract. The further out you go, the more flexibility you have."
Repeat games at the same stadium are possible again for 2013, Womack said. That's a byproduct of scheduling every team for an equal number of home-and-away divisional games and total SEC games.
This season, Missouri travels to Texas A&M for the third straight year (two seasons came when they were in the Big 12), and Mississippi State played at Kentucky in consecutive years.
"We had that back when we expanded in '92 where it calls for some repeat venues to get the balance on board," Womack said. "I think what you want is to take as few repeats as you can and take them as early in the schedule (rotation) as you can."
Womack said the SEC won't necessarily return to certain scheduling parameters as it had prior to expansion. Eliminating parameters caused many scheduling quirks in 2012, such as Texas A&M playing three straight SEC road games beginning next week.
"I think we'll probably avoid a lot of that," Womack said. "We tried to keep the same parameters, but given this bridge type of schedule and trying to accommodate requests, there are some things that become unavoidable."
The format SEC athletics directors selected means teams won't immediately play a return game against their rotating opponent. For example, if Georgia plays at Alabama in 2013, the return game to Athens would be several years down the road.
How many years in the future? Womack said it is mathematically impossible for every SEC team to play its rotating opponent exactly once every six years.
"There's a little tweak for that to happen home and away, but it's pretty close to that," he said. "Nothing past six years is the way it will come out for the return game."
That means teams who play as rotating opponents in 2013 would stage the return game by 2019, if not sooner in some cases.
The next two years carry 14-week schedules in college football instead of 13, meaning two byes for every team. Womack said that challenges schedule-makers to spread out the open dates.
Traditional playing dates will be kept "to some degree," Womack said. "I think you try to keep some of those traditional games in the dates they have traditionally been played in."
Most SEC members continue to favor eight conference games, Womack said. Earlier this month, the ACC dropped its plan for nine conference games after adding Notre Dame to play every ACC school five games a year.
"I think you look at what other folks are doing, but our institutions look at the issues they face that impacts their positions on scheduling," Womack said. "I think our guys are always open to looking at things, but at this point in time we're moving forward for the longterm schedule. That doesn't mean that couldn't change during the duration."
