The SEC finally caved.
The most prestigious conference in collegiate athletics announced on Aug. 21 that the 16 members would adopt a nine-game conference schedule in 2026, along with an additional non-conference power opponent from the Big Ten, Big 12 or the Atlantic Coast Conference.
This decision takes away one of the three previous opportunities to schedule pay games against Group of Five or FCS teams.
This will hurt lower-tier Louisiana football programs, as less availability from SEC schools will result in sparse scheduling, stripping smaller schools of potential revenue.
“If we’re going to have to pay somebody to come in and play us, why not pay your in-state schools and take care of them?” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said at SEC Media Days in July.
LSU is paying Louisiana Tech and Southeastern Louisiana University a combined $2.35 million to play in Tiger Stadium this season.
While these games are scheduled to help support the smaller schools, the game doesn’t mean any less for the favorites.
“There’s great allegiance to the in-state schools, but on Saturday, we want to whip ‘em,” Kelly said at his Thursday press conference leading up to the Louisiana Tech game.
There’s no love lost between the hashes despite the purpose of these games being to help both teams improve in record or budget.
These guarantee games can help smaller programs improve their facilities and enhance the quality of life for players and staff.
“When I was at Marshall, we tried to play one every three to four years to go out and help the budget and get a paycheck,” Lamar University’s athletic director, Jeff O’Malley, told KCEN-TV in a 2023 interview.
Occasional seven-figure contracts are too attractive to pass up for schools that draw in poor attendance and retention from boosters.
The contract between LSU and LA Tech, available online through a public records request, outlines the agreement between both teams over payment, visiting ticket allotment, as well as game day minutiae such as the band, cheerleaders, mascot and other sideline passes.
But LSU isn’t the only SEC school that invites Louisiana schools to campus. In 2025, Alabama and Ole Miss host the University of Louisiana at Monroe and Tulane, respectively.
Games like these offers something money can’t buy. The invaluable experience of playing at an SEC stadium on a Saturday night is the dream for many student-athletes, and they might only get one chance to experience it.
The experience is not only for the players, but the coaches too, who can see how their team stacks up against the best and how it competes on the big stage with high stakes. This can provide clarity as to how the team can improve.
Money games also offer teams a chance to earn a historical victory with all odds stacked against them. ULM famously defeated Alabama during Nick Saban’s first year as head coach, and Troy gave LSU a sour start to the Ed Orgeron era when the Trojans beat the Tigers in 2017.
While games like this occur every year, regularly scheduled matchups are not common.
The additional SEC game dramatically decreases the chance of the LSU-Tulane rivalry renewing. Bringing back the Battle for the Rag would leave LSU with only one other chance to play a G5 or FCS team, a decision the program would not be too keen on.
LSU and Tulane played each year from 1919 to 1994, with some non-consecutive matchups before and after that period. The two teams have not met since 2009, but the resurgence of Tulane football has had fans wanting the yearly contest back.
Greed over home games and the game-day economics of both schools is what ended the rivalry in recent years, and the potential seven-figure payment is not enough to bring the Rag back onto the scene.
The rivalry returning would only boost alumni support and buy-in for a true rivalry week opponent for LSU.
The new conference schedule will see a loss in revenue and exposure for smaller schools, especially for Louisiana schools, which have many D1 teams besides LSU. Which means the Tigers can’t host them all often. They will have to begin to find more unique ways to boost their program without regular games against SEC powerhouses.
