Speaking of future non-conference scheduling...
Big Ten and SEC athletic directors will discuss a possible partnership in football scheduling, along with their preferences for automatic bids, in the next iteration of the College Football Playoff.
The future scheduling partnership could hinge on whether the SEC eventually decides to go to nine conference games -- a topic one SEC source said hasn't been a focus of conversations lately. Some Big Ten athletic directors could push back on any agreement if the SEC doesn't move to nine games, because the Big Ten already plays nine league opponents.
"If we're all going to figure this out," one source said, "we've got to be on equal footing."
Sources in both leagues told ESPN on Monday they would prefer to have potentially four automatic bids each to the playoff when the next contract begins in 2026. CFP leaders haven't determined yet what the playoff will look like beyond this season and next. Some said they need to know that before making any decisions about future scheduling partnerships.
"I'm for anything that gives us the maximum number of postseason opportunities," one SEC source said. "I don't count bowl games as postseason opportunities."
Definitely doesn't sound like any changes are imminent -- and nothing is going to happen unless the SEC gets onboard with 9 conference games.
But if that DID happen, it would be interesting to see if this would impact the Iowa-ISU series. Iowa already got some special scheduling dispensation with the Big Ten to maintain annual conference games with Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Nebraska -- would they also push to keep ISU over playing an SEC team in this hypothetical "scheduling partnership"?
More info:
www.espn.com
Big Ten and SEC athletic directors will discuss a possible partnership in football scheduling, along with their preferences for automatic bids, in the next iteration of the College Football Playoff.
The future scheduling partnership could hinge on whether the SEC eventually decides to go to nine conference games -- a topic one SEC source said hasn't been a focus of conversations lately. Some Big Ten athletic directors could push back on any agreement if the SEC doesn't move to nine games, because the Big Ten already plays nine league opponents.
"If we're all going to figure this out," one source said, "we've got to be on equal footing."
Sources in both leagues told ESPN on Monday they would prefer to have potentially four automatic bids each to the playoff when the next contract begins in 2026. CFP leaders haven't determined yet what the playoff will look like beyond this season and next. Some said they need to know that before making any decisions about future scheduling partnerships.
"I'm for anything that gives us the maximum number of postseason opportunities," one SEC source said. "I don't count bowl games as postseason opportunities."
Definitely doesn't sound like any changes are imminent -- and nothing is going to happen unless the SEC gets onboard with 9 conference games.
But if that DID happen, it would be interesting to see if this would impact the Iowa-ISU series. Iowa already got some special scheduling dispensation with the Big Ten to maintain annual conference games with Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Nebraska -- would they also push to keep ISU over playing an SEC team in this hypothetical "scheduling partnership"?
More info:
Sources: Big Ten, SEC eye schedule partnership
SEC and Big Ten athletic directors will meet next week to discuss a possible partnership in football scheduling and preferences for automatic bids, sources told ESPN.
