SANDESTIN, Fla. -- When the Southeastern Conference's new football schedule begins in 2013, it will consist of six divisional games, one permanent cross division rival and another game against a rotating cross division team.
SEC consultant Larry Templeton told the Birmingham News Saturday the league would go with a 6-1-1 scheduling model.
Sources told CBSSports.com that the SEC is expected to announce the league's scheduling opponents for the next 12 years and that rotating cross division game will be a one-year rotation instead of a two-year home and home rotation.
The SEC's spring meetings are began Tuesday in Sandestin. An official announcement on the league's future schedule could come on Friday.
In other words: an SEC West team would play six games against the other six SEC West opponents, one game against a permanent SEC East rival and one game against a rotating SEC East team.
That rotating opponent will change every year, meaning each league team will play every other league member at least once every six years. If the league had opted for a home and home series between the rotating teams, it would have taken 12 years for each SEC school to play each other.
The cross division rival games will be: Alabama-Tennessee; Georgia-Auburn, Arkansas-Missouri, LSU-Florida, Ole Miss-Vanderbilt, Mississippi State-Kentucky and Texas A&M-South Carolina.