The scheduling agreement makes sense for both conferences. Just look at the ratings of the games that feature SEC vs. B1G games already.
Scheduling agreement
Most interesting among the expected topics is a football scheduling partnership for the regular season as well as a reimagined non-playoff bowl lineup featuring arranged matchups between the leagues. Conference schedule agreements are not unprecedented. The SEC, for example, is part of the annual ACC-SEC basketball challenge.
Such moves are expected to generate additional revenue to the leagues, presumably from television networks seeking matchups of the biggest brands in the sport. The two highest-rated college football games over the first four weeks of the season have been games between the two conferences: Texas-Michigan (9.19 million viewers) and USC-LSU (8.2 million).
Discussions are expected to go beyond the regular season with the possibility of what officials describe as an “overhauled postseason” for those programs not advancing to the CFP. Administrators are exploring ways to arrange more matchups that pair teams from the two leagues as opposed to their current bowl agreement pairings. The bowl agreements expire after the 2025 season.
All of it is an effort to generate untapped revenue at a time when schools are bracing to spend more than $20 million annually in an athlete revenue-sharing concept tied to the House antitrust settlement.
To that end, SEC school executives continue to hold deep discussions about adding a ninth conference game starting in 2026 (the Big Ten already plays nine). The conference is somewhat split on the concept, and a requirement for any ninth league game involves receiving extra revenue from ESPN, the league’s media rights holder.