The SEC Spring Meetings are in full swing down in Destin, Florida, right now, and Texas A&M has already been making some waves thanks to comments made by head coach Mike Elko. It's not just the head man for the Aggies who has been making national news, however— there's a longstanding SEC tradition that just kicked the can.
According to multiple reports, SEC athletic directors have voted to end the notorious "cupcake week" that would traditionally take place near the end of the season. For years, the conference has begun league play a week earlier than most other conferences, putting marquee matchups front and center while the Ohio States and Michigans of the world were still playing MAC teams.
SEC athletic directors vote to play conference games on next to last week of regular season, starting in 2027. "That's the end of cupcake weekend," SEC commish Greg Sankey said
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 26, 2026
The flipside of this, of course, is that there was another non-conference game that needed to fall somewhere in the schedule— and, for years, that was the penultimate weekend of the season. That's why, in mid-to-late November every year, you'd always see a collection of Big 10 and Big 12 fans decrying SEC scheduling, banking on the idea that no one remembered their lackluster matchups back in September.
SEC ends notorious "cupcake weekend," forcing Texas A&M's hand for 2027 schedule
This was, in the grand scheme of things, a rather inoffensive scheduling philosophy for SEC teams, despite all the flak it got. With the move to nine conference games, though, it was only a matter of time until it was eventually discontinued. Now, SEC teams will be forced to play a conference game on that second to last weekend, just like we see in this year's schedule for the Aggies, who will play at Oklahoma before they host Texas in the Lone Star Showdown.
This is also not a move that will sate any of the fans outside of the footprint who have delivered such bluster about the practice up until now. Theirs was never an intellectualy honest argument in the first place— it was vibes-based, pure and simple— so they'll no doubt find another argument to drive into the ground sooner rather than later.
The other relevant upshot for Texas A&M football is that they'll need to place their final non-conference game for 2027 in a different spot than many had assumed. With games against Texas State and Arizona State on the docket for 2027, Texas A&M will not only need to figure out who they're playing, but when.
Texas A&M is set to face Texas State (9/4) and @ Arizona State (9/11) in September 2027, and will need to play its final to-be-announced non-conference opponent at some point before the now-obsolete “cupcake weekend.” https://t.co/oGUnVDeZnE
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) May 26, 2026
The normal pattern for the Aggies over the last number of years has been three non-conference games to start the year before a final game in the penultimate weekend, but that is different this year. Texas A&M plays their final non-conference game in October, as The Citadel will visit Kyle Field on October 17.
Texas A&M will either have to pick September 18 for their final non-conference game in 2027, or pick a non-traditional weekend to have it, much like they have this year. It will most likely be a smaller opponent, since Arizona State satisfies the P4 out-of-conference requirement, so they could be strategic with where they place that game based on how the SEC schedule shakes out.
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