The SEC is known for dominating college football. The conference has already collected 43 national football championships over the years. Whether you love or hate them, the SEC’s football teams always manage to keep things interesting. Here’s a look at everything you need to know about the SEC for this college football season. 

SEC championship: The conference’s 31-year history

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) was founded in 1932 by 13 members of the old Southern Conference. Today, the SEC includes a total of 14 universities. Greg Sankey has served as the commissioner of the conference since 2015.

Per SEC Sports’ website, 10 of the current teams have been in the SEC since its formation in the 1930s. These 10 teams include:

• Alabama
• Auburn 
• Florida 
• Georgia 
• Kentucky 
• LSU
• Mississippi 
• Mississippi State
• Tennessee 
• Vanderbilt 

Since its formation, four different universities have been added to the SEC. In 1991, the SEC expanded with the addition of two teams, including Arkansas and South Carolina .

In 2012, the SEC expanded to its current form of 14 institutions with the addition of two universities, Missouri and Texas A&M.

The SEC will expand once again with the addition of two more universities in 2024. Rounding up the total membership to 16, the two new members of the SEC include Oklahoma and Texas.

Per Sports Illustrated, Oklahoma and Texas will officially join the SEC on July 1, 2024. Hopefully, Oklahoma and Texas are up to compete within the conference and ready to help contribute to the SEC’s winning ways. Over the years, the SEC has won a number of national championships, including:

• 43 in football
• 21 in basketball
• 41 in indoor track
• 42 in outdoor track
• 24 in swimming
• 20 in gymnastics
• 15 in baseball (College World Series)
• 1 in volleyball

In 1992, the SEC split into two divisions: East and West. This makes the current SEC football setup 31 years old. However, a shakeup is on the horizon. 

SEC Championship tickets

The SEC is currently divided into East and West Divisions. In football, the two division winners have historically met up in the SEC Championship Game. However, the SEC’s divisional split is set to end in 2024. Per SEC Sports, under the new stipulations, the SEC Championship Game will feature the two top teams in the Conference based on standings at the end of the regular season. 

Per ESPN, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey announced that there will be an eight-game conference schedule for the 2024 football season when the SEC welcomes Texas and Oklahoma. This setup will be a trial run for the conference and may change in 2025, depending on how things work out during the 2024 season. 

When is the SEC Championship?

While the 2024 season will bring exciting new changes for the football teams in the SEC, they’ll have to get through the 2023 season first. The 2023 SEC Championship Game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. This will be the seventh time the SEC Championship Game has occurred in Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the 30th time Atlanta has hosted.

What time is the SEC Championship game? 

While it’s still a few months away, it’s time for SEC football fans to mark their calendars. The SEC Championship game is scheduled to kick off on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, at 4 pm EST on CBS.

Past SEC college football champions 

Before you make your bets on the 2023 SEC college football champion, it might be worth your while to check out which teams have performed the best historically. Per NCAA, these college football teams have won the SEC championship over the last decade:

• Alabama Crimson Tide: 2012 SEC Champions – December 1 at Georgia Dome
• Auburn Tigers: 2013 SEC Champions – December 7 at Georgia Dome
• Alabama Crimson Tide: 2014 SEC Champions – December 6 at Georgia Dome
• Alabama Crimson Tide: 2015 SEC Champions – December 5 at Georgia Dome
• Alabama Crimson Tide: 2016 SEC Champions – December 3 at Georgia Dome
• Georgia Bulldogs: 2017 SEC Champions – December 2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
• Alabama Crimson Tide: 2018 SEC Champions – December 1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
• LSU Tigers: 2019 SEC Champions – December 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
• Alabama Crimson Tide: 2020 SEC Champions – December 19 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
• Alabama Crimson Tide: 2021 SEC Champions – December 4 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
• Georgia Bulldogs: 2022 SEC Champions – December 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium