Receiver Tayvion Robinson transferred from Virginia Tech to UK this season. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart is not on board for a nine-game Southeastern Conference football schedule once Texas and Oklahoma join the SEC in 2025.
One argument for a nine-game rotating SEC schedule is that teams could maintain their natural rivalries and rotate to play other SEC schools more frequently than they do now.
“There’s a couple of A.D.s in our league who have said, ‘Hey, it’s really important for these kids to be able to see every place (in the SEC),’” Barnhart said Monday on the weekly Big Blue Nation radio show with Darren Headrick. “Well, they’re not staying long enough to do that. I mean they’re either going pro or transferring and moving out.”
“The rosters are flipping so rapidly I don’t even think that that’s part of the conversation anymore. I think you’ve got to think really diligently about how you’re managing those conversations and the equity and competitive fairness I think is what we’re trying to get to.”
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has indicated he prefers an eight-game league schedule, especially after going through a 10-game SEC slate during the 2020 COVID season. Barnhart said eight games against SEC competition is enough and playing more would make it more difficult to keep players healthy.
“Eight has worked really well for Kentucky, not going to lie to you. It has worked incredibly well for us and I would speak to us and for us only,” the Kentucky athletics director said. “I don’t want to speak for other schools and what they should do. Each school is going to have to look through their own lens.”
“But I will tell you eight has worked well for us because we’ve been able to schedule and been able to keep our players healthy to try and limit injuries and create opportunities for us to rest some guys so that when we get to conference play, even sometimes if we don’t have the greatest depth, we’ve been able to keep a strong roster.”
“Eight’s worked well for us; that allows us to play the in-state game with Louisville as well as the three other games. Frankly, about every other year we’ve been able to have eight home games and that’s a big deal financially for our programs, to be able to have eight home games.”
2 Responses
Seems like to me they would make more money playing SEC teams or a home and home with someone. I think Texas A&M proved that paying a team 1.5 million to come beat you is insane.
Problem is 9-game SEC schedule would mean 5 away SEC games some year and if that was same year Louisville was away, that would mean only six home games. UK always has at least seven now and that is big money