The future of the SEC Championship Game

The SEC Championship Game is still on for now. But with the ever changing landscape of college football, that could change. In years past, the SEC Championship and other conference championship games served as a pathway to the college football playoff. With the recent expansion beginning in 2024 to 12 teams however, it could actually work against a team.

In most seasons, the losing team of the SEC Championship game does not make it to the college football playoff, or BCS National Championship game if we go all the way back to that era. However, now that the playoff has expanded to 12 teams, there is growing concern amongst fan bases that the team that loses the SEC Championship Game could be left out of a 12 team playoff.

Being left out of a four team playoff is one thing, but 12 is so expanded that in theory each team that is slated to play in the SEC Championship game would be guaranteed to be in the 12 team playoff before playing the game, but the loser may be on the outside looking in after it. This is the main reason the game may be done away with.

How long has the SEC Championship game been played?

The SEC Championship has been played since 1992. It’s first contest was the Alabama Crimson Tide against the Florida Gators. And it has been a traditional historic affair between the winner of the SEC West and SEC East since.

Although with the expansion of the SEC in 2024 to 16 including the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns, there will no more division and the top two teams in the SEC will compete for the championship.

Given the fact that the game has been played annually for over 20 years, to do away with it would undoubtedly sting for a few years. But as time passes, it could heal the wounds in the minds of many SEC fans.