LEXINGTON, Ky. — As the Southeastern Conference looks to welcome Oklahoma and Texas to its ranks in 2024, the league announced its football teams will play an eight-game conference schedule in the first year of the expanded footprint.

Kentucky’s conference schedule for 2024 includes home games against Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. The Wildcats will hit the road to face Florida, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Texas.

According to UK Athletics, dates and times for the games will be announced at a later date.

Kentucky’s matchup with Texas will mark the teams’ first meeting since 1951 in Austin, Texas, when the team was coached by legendary coach Bear Bryant.

Season tickets for the 2023 season are on sale now. Information on 2023 single-game tickets and student season tickets will be available in July.

The announcement comes after weeks of speculation and deliberations over the new conference schedule with the two incoming programs. Coaches and league officials used some of their annual spring meeting debating an expansion of the conference schedule to nine or even 10 games.

According to Associated Press reporting, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops was one of the most vocal supporters of keeping the current eight-game conference schedule, noting the school’s in-state rivalry game with Louisville.