Last month, the SEC announced that it would begin playing a nine-game conference football schedule in 2026. The change in scheduling format for the league has, naturally, affected the future non-conference schedules of several league members.
Following the announcement, a review of future SEC football schedules revealed that two teams — Arkansas and Mississippi State — were overscheduled by one game in 2026 due to the upcoming nine-game format.
On Thursday, Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek announced at the Hawgs Illustrated Sports Club that the school has made a determination on which 2026 game will be rescheduled, per WholeHogSports. Before the announced move to nine-games, Arkansas was scheduled to host the North Alabama Lions (Sept. 5), Memphis Tigers (Sept. 19), and Tulsa Golden Hurricane (Nov. 21) and travel to face the Utah Utes on Sept. 12.
According to Yurachek, Arkansas and Memphis will reschedule their 2026 contest in Fayetteville and it will now be played on a date to be determined in 2030. Additionally, Yurachek stated that Arkansas’s home game against Tulsa next season will be moved from November to September.
That leaves games against North Alabama, Utah, and Tulsa for Arkansas next season. Arkansas kept Utah on its 2026 slate because the SEC is continuing its requirement that each league member play at least one non-conference opponent from a power conference.
Memphis will now need to seek a fourth non-conference opponent to fill the void left by Arkansas. The Tigers are scheduled to open the 2026 season at home against the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Sept. 5.
Other scheduled non-conference opponents for Memphis next season include the Boise State Broncos on the road on Sept. 12 and the UT Martin Skyhawks at home on Sept. 26.
FOOTBALL SCHEDULES
I’d rather the home game against Memphis over that against North Alabama next season, but at least we’re still going to get it. Just in five years… I feel like the whole point of a home-and-home will be lost at that point.
Arkansas hosts Memphis in 2028 as well, it’s a two-for-one series.
Thank goodness they´re doing away with the late season cupcake.
The SEC needs late season cupcakes since they aren’t the Big Ten and don’t get to play cupcakes as part of their conference schedule.
I’m not even sure a BYU fan can comprehend the grind of the SEC schedule.
Having a free win in the middle of the season while everyone else is ironically, is in the grind of conference play is stupid and unfair to everyone else. If the SEC is as strong and tough as they say they are they shouldn´t need to play a late season freebee and I laugh at not being able to ¨comprehend the grind of an SEC schedule¨ your obviously a fan of an SEC team that can´t possibly hope to ever win anything and is just coat tailing on the success of Alabama and Georgia to feel better about yourself. Speaking of the middle of the pack to bottom of the SEC, they would get squashed by the top of the Big 12. It´s hilarious to me how people seem to think Mississippi State can actually beat ASU and aren´t about to lose by 30 and they absolutely were robbed of a win over the SEC RUNNER UP last year.
I want to see more SEC conference games in November with very minor exception of four SEC-ACC Thanksgiving weekend games like Georgia-Georgia Tech.
To understand how difficult an SEC schedule is, you have to look beyond a team’s win-loss record.
And you have to find an objective data point, one that isn’t swayed by bias.
Fortunately we have that with the NFL draft.
The NFL selects more players from the SEC every single season. Not only that, it’s not just two or three teams sending players to the next level, it’s every team.
You don’t get a week off in the SEC. You’re playing elite talent every single week.
Only two of BYU’s opponents last year had four players drafted. One had three. Everyone else was less.
Arkansas, on the other hand, only played two teams with LESS than three draft picks.
It’s not the same and it’s not even close.
Since 2008, FIVE different SEC teams have won national titles. The Big XII hasn’t even won a single title in that time. In fact, no other conference has had five different teams claim a title in the last fifty years.
Again, it’s not even close.
This didn’t age well:
“It´s hilarious to me how people seem to think Mississippi State can actually beat ASU and aren´t about to lose by 30…”
Lower tier of the SEC is better than the top of the Big 12.
Well, Oklahoma State did beat Arkansas last year.
Not sure Oklahoma State is the best example of anyting this morning, either.
What about Florida?
¨The SEC has had the same six schools win the national championship since 1964, that´s top heavy to me, not depth¨-Rhett Lashlee
Name another conference that has had six different teams win a national title in football since 1964.
I’ll wait.
Never said the SEC wasn´t the best conference. What I´m trying to say is that it´s not light years ahead of everyone else. Especially not the lower tier.
For the last fifty years the Big Ten has been Ohio State and Michigan.
The Big 12 was three teams (UT, OK, and Nebraska) and they aren’t in the conference anymore.
The Pac 12 was USC with brief stints for Washington and Oregon.
The ACC has been two teams, FSU and Clemson.
The SEC has had Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, LSU, and Florida win national titles.
If that’s not light years ahead, you aren’t paying attention.
Have they all been strong at the same time? No, they haven’t been. It’s impressive but NIL and the transfer portal has made the playing field much more even than it used to be. The SEC hasn’t even made the national title game the past two years.
I am still an Oklahoma State backer even without Oklahoma, Texas & Nebraska.
Shouldn’t the Tulsa game be listed as TBD for 2026?
I’m trying to get a date for it so I do t have to change it twice.