Championship - Football

LSU Tigers win 2019 SEC Football Championship
Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta, Georgia

The game was born as a result of 1992 conference expansion, which saw Arkansas and South Carolina become the first members added in SEC history. Under NCAA regulations, a conference with 12 members may play an additional football game to determine its champion, provided the regular season is played in divisions.

The participants of the game are determined each year during the eight-game regular-season conference schedule as the teams with the best overall SEC winning percentage in each division.

The 2018 SEC Championship Game was the most-watched and highest-rated regular-season college football game on any network in seven years with a 10.1/23 rating/share and 17.5 million viewers. It also marked the second most-watched SEC Championship ever in 26 years since the game debuted in 1992.

The 2009 SEC Championship Game earned an 11.8 rating and a 24 share, marking the highest-rated SEC Championship Game in history. The game matched the No. 1 Florida Gators (12-0) vs. the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide (12-0).

The SEC Championship Game has drawn 25 capacity crowds in its 27-year history. Only 1993 (Birmingham) and 1995 (Atlanta) were not sellouts.

The SEC, along with AMB Sports & Entertainment (AMBSE) and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority (GWCCA), have an agreement to host the SEC Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta through 2026. The new agreement allows the SEC the option of adding up to two successive five-year extensions.

The Georgia Dome hosted the SEC Championship Game for 23 years beginning in 1994, with capacity crowds in the last 21 consecutive years. By the end of the new agreement, including options, the Championship will have been played in Atlanta a total of 43 years.

SEC Football Championship Game History