DESTIN, Fla. — Alabama’s schedule seems to be completely different this yr, and it doesn’t bear a resemblance to what we’ve seen for the previous decade.

For the primary time since 2011, Alabama received’t take part in a neutral-site recreation to start the season. As an alternative, by visiting Texas, which continues to be a Massive 12 member, it’s enjoying a real out-of-conference highway recreation for the primary time since touring to Penn State that yr. It’s the start of a brand new period of Crimson Tide soccer scheduling that’s vastly completely different from nearly all of the Nick Saban period.

It’s not simply Alabama. Your entire SEC will quickly have a special mannequin for scheduling, however what form that takes stays up within the air after convention conferences. Even because the convention continues to kick across the eight-game, 1-7 format (one everlasting opponent) and the nine-game, 3-6 format (three everlasting opponents), established order can be gone for good as quickly as Oklahoma and Texas enter the SEC no later than 2025. Divisions are on the verge of departing, and the one remaining intrigue is eight or 9 convention video games. A supply informed The Athletic that though no resolution was reached on the spring conferences, the problem received’t be tabled for lengthy.

A wholesome debate was held among the many SEC coaches and athletic administrators, with no aspect holding a transparent benefit. The eight recreation, 1-7 mannequin had extra assist than initially anticipated.

The place does Alabama stand on the problem? It’s clear that the Crimson Tide and director of athletics Greg Byrne have dedicated to giving followers extra bang for his or her buck in future schedules. Alabama has scheduled nonconference video games as far out as 2035, and in 9 of these seasons, the Crimson Tide are scheduled to play two Energy 5 groups exterior the SEC (two years, 2032 and 2033, had been to characteristic nonconference video games towards Oklahoma, earlier than the Sooners joined the SEC). These schedules and contracts had been agreed to within the previous convention mannequin. If the SEC goes to 9 convention video games, Alabama could be enjoying 11 of its 12 video games towards Energy 5 opponents.

Has Alabama unknowingly over-scheduled itself sooner or later? Probably. A minimum of compared to a lot of the SEC and Energy 5 applications.

“You’ve seen how we’ve scheduled and we’ve added Energy 5, Autonomy 5 video games to our schedule,” Byrne mentioned. “Now we did that primarily based off of considering we had been going to proceed to play eight video games.”

Georgia has additionally aggressively scheduled for the longer term. Each Alabama and Georgia have carried out so for fan curiosity and in anticipation of growth of the Faculty Soccer Playoff. Different SEC applications, although, haven’t adopted go well with as of but. The SEC actually doesn’t wish to put itself at a aggressive drawback compared to a few of its Energy 5 brethren, and that’s one of many sticking factors within the discussions vacillating between staying at eight video games and going to 9.

“I believe having good content material to your groups, having good content material to your student-athletes, to your followers, to your TV companions, all that’s good for the sport of school soccer,” Byrne mentioned. “And I believe loads of what we have now to do proper now isn’t solely take a look at what’s proper for our establishment, which we’re all going to do, but in addition what’s proper for the sport of soccer, what’s proper for faculty athletics as a complete. As that is evolving very dramatically proper now, we have now to be very open-minded to that in our resolution making.”

Saban has been vocal for years about his willingness to play extra convention video games. However he wouldn’t put himself at a aggressive drawback to take action. The highest two applications within the convention and arguably the nation, Alabama and Georgia, have stepped out in entrance in scheduling solely to look over their shoulder and never see many behind them marching alongside.

“Beginning in ’25 , we have now two Energy 5s scheduled virtually yearly all the way in which to ’35, and we’ve been having another discussions with different applications about extra ones,” Byrne mentioned. “So we’re going to proceed to hopefully create good content material for everyone concerned.”

One would think about these conversations with different applications throughout that window are a minimum of briefly on maintain with none assurances of which method the league goes. Byrne would love to provide his fan base a compelling recreation each week, however it will be unwise to lock in a schedule by which all 12 regular-season video games encompass Energy 5 opponents whereas contemporaries aren’t doing the identical.

That’s why, privately, some athletic administrators across the nation are pining for different applications to schedule more durable. However by the sounds of the discussions at SEC spring conferences, the way forward for the CFP and preserving bowl eligibility had been chief among the many issues within the hesitancy to maneuver ahead with a more difficult schedule.

“I believe freshness in scheduling irrespective of the game is actually wholesome for everyone concerned,” Byrne mentioned. “Once we performed Missouri a couple of years in the past, it was, I imagine, the primary time they’d been to Bryant-Denny Stadium. And there was loads of anticipation about that. That was thrilling. I do know the story will get informed about when Kentucky went to A&M in soccer a couple of years in the past for the primary time. There was pleasure from the Kentucky fan base. Freshness is sweet; retaining issues alive in that method I believe goes to do nothing however assist faculty athletics proceed to verify we keep robust and related.”

Faculty soccer and alter have been synonymous for the previous couple of years, together with the switch portal and NIL making a model of free company. It’s clear, a minimum of within the SEC, that change can be coming in the way in which the league schedules its convention video games. The SEC will look completely different in 2025, and it’s not simply due to Oklahoma and Texas.

(Photograph: Wealthy von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire through Getty Photographs)