SEC releases Auburn's conference opponents for 2026-29

AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn’s traditional rivalries with Georgia and Alabama are preserved, and an annual matchup with Vanderbilt will occur for the next four seasons, the Southeastern Conference announced Tuesday. 

In 2026, when the SEC schedule expands to nine conference games, Auburn will host Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Florida and LSU while traveling to Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Tennessee. 

The complete 2026 SEC football schedule to include dates of games will be announced later this year.

In 2027, the Tigers will play five SEC games at Jordan-Hare Stadium, hosting Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. The Tigers will play road games at Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Missouri and Texas. 

In 2028, Auburn’s four-game home SEC slate features Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Tennessee. The Tigers will travel to Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Florida and LSU. 

In 2029, Auburn hosts the Iron Bowl and the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, along with Kentucky, Missouri and the Texas Longhorns’ first visit to the Plains as an SEC member. The Tigers’ SEC road games will be at Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. 

The SEC announced in August it would play a nine-game conference schedule starting with the 2026 season.  In the new format, each SEC school will play every other SEC school at least once every two years, and every opponent home and away over four years, making it the most fair and balanced schedule in the history of the conference.

Under the new format, each school will play three annual opponents focused on maintaining many traditional rivalries and each team’s remaining six games will rotate among the remaining conference schools. The SEC will continue with a single-standings, non-divisional structure.

Per the SEC, annual opponents were determined with consideration given to traditional rivalries, competitive fairness, geography and alignment with existing non-conference home/away commitments.

Annual opponents will be evaluated after each four-year cycle to maintain continued competitive balance.

The remaining six conference games will come from a rotating pool of the other conference teams.

The rotating schedule is designed so that a team will play every other conference opponent at least once every two years and twice (once at home and once away) over a four-year period.

With nine conference games, eight schools will play five home games each season and eight schools will play four home games.

Home/away determination was made with the intent of providing seven home games for each school while balancing existing home/away commitments to annual nonconference rivalry games.

To meet the scheduling priorities established by the conference and its members, the 2026 conference schedule includes cases where schools play at the same venue in back-to-back years. This has occurred in the past when the SEC has changed football scheduling formats.

In addition to the conference opponents, SEC teams are required to schedule at least one additional high quality nonconference opponent from the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten or Big 12 conferences or Notre Dame each season.

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer