Report: Kentucky-Tennessee football rivalry to continue in new SEC schedule format
The Kentucky-Tennessee football rivalry appears set to continue for the next four years under the SEC’s new nine-game schedule.
The new format will see each team play three fixed opponents every year from 2026 to 2030. The other six conference games will rotate each year with every team guaranteed to play every other SEC school home and away across the four years.
UK’s three fixed opponents will be Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida, according to reports from On3 and The Athletic. The SEC will announce the matchups for each of the next four seasons in a television special Tuesday night, but the list of fixed opponents leaked ahead of the announcement.
The list of fixed opponents represents a change from the proposed matchups that leaked in 2023. Kentucky-Tennessee was not one of the rivalries picked to continue on that list.
The border rivals have played every season since 1919 (UK did not field a team in 1943 due to World War II). Tennessee has dominated the series with an 85-26-9 record. Kentucky has beaten Tennessee just three times since 1985.
UK and Florida have met every year since 1967. The Gators have a 54-20 advantage in that series.
Kentucky’s series with South Carolina has been much closer than the other two fixed rivals, but UK still trails in the series 23-13-1 due in large part to a 10-game losing streak from 2000 to 2009.
