The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. For its first 32 seasons, the championship game pitted the East Division regular season champion against the West Division regular season champion. With the SEC eliminating football divisions after the 2023 season, the game now features the top two teams in the conference standings. The game is regularly played on the first Saturday of December, and has been held in Atlanta since 1994, first at the Georgia Dome, and at Mercedes-Benz Stadium since 2017.
The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team is currently led by Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide is among the most storied and decorated football programs in NCAA history. Since beginning play in 1892, the program claims 18 national championships, including 13 wire-service national titles in the poll-era, and five other titles before the poll-era. From 1958 to 1982, the team was led by Hall of Fame coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who won six national titles with the program. Alabama then had a dominant run under head coach Nick Saban between 2007 and 2023, resulting in six further national titles. The team's rallying cry is "Roll Tide!".
The Alabama–Mississippi State football rivalry, also known as the 90 Mile Drive or the Battle for Highway 82, is an American college football rivalry between the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the University of Alabama and Mississippi State Bulldogs football team of Mississippi State University. Both universities are founding members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and are currently members of the SEC's Western Division. The two campuses are located approximately 90 miles apart and are the two geographically closest SEC universities.
Alabama Crimson Tide football under Nick Saban covers the history of the Alabama Crimson Tide football program from when Nick Saban was hired as head coach in 2007 up until his retirement after the 2023 season. Alabama played as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and was a member of the West Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Tide played its home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Their overall official record under Saban was 201–29 (.878), 23 bowl game appearances with 16 victories, ten SEC West titles, nine SEC championships, and six national championships. From 2008 up until his retirement, Saban's teams spent part or all of each season ranked number 1 in national polls.
The 2014 SEC Championship Game was played on Saturday, December 6, 2014, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, and determined the 2014 football champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game was played between Western Division Champion Alabama and Eastern Division Champion Missouri. Missouri was the designated home team, and the game was televised by CBS for the fourteenth straight year. In the game, Alabama defeated Missouri 42–13 and captured their 24th SEC football championship.
The 2015 SEC Championship Game was played on Saturday, December 5, 2015 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, and determined the 2015 football champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game was played between the East Division champion Florida Gators and West Division champion Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama was the designated home team. CBS televised the game for the fifteenth consecutive year.
The 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game played on January 8, 2018, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, and was televised nationally by ESPN. The fourth College Football Playoff National Championship, the game determined a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the 2017 season. It was the final game of the 2017-18 College Football Playoff (CFP) and, aside from the all star games following this, was the cumulating game of the 2017-18 bowl season. Sponsored by telecommunications company AT&T, the game was officially known as the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T.
The 2016 SEC Championship Game was played on Saturday, December 3, 2016, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, and determined the 2016 football champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game was played between the Eastern Division champion, Gators, and Western Division champion Alabama. The Eastern Division team was the designated home team, and the game was broadcast nationally by CBS for the 16th consecutive year. This was the final SEC Championship Game in the Georgia Dome, which was demolished on November 20, 2017, after its successor, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, opened on August 26 of the same year. The title game moved to the new stadium and will remain there through at least 2027.
The 2017 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers played their home games at Jordan–Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by fifth-year head coach Gus Malzahn. Auburn finished the season 10–4 overall and 7–1 in SEC play to win a share of the Western Division title with Alabama. Due to their head-to-head win over Alabama, they represented the Western Division in the SEC Championship Game where they lost to Georgia. They were invited to the Peach Bowl, where they lost to American Athletic Conference champion UCF.
The 2017 SEC Championship Game was played on December 2, 2017, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, and determined the 2017 football champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). This was the first SEC Conference football championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game featured the Eastern Division Champion, Georgia Bulldogs against the Western Division Co-Champion, the Auburn Tigers. This championship game marked the first time Auburn and Georgia had rematched each other in the same year, with the previous iteration having been played on November 11, 2017. In the earlier game, Auburn beat Georgia by a score of 40–17. In this rematch, Georgia won the SEC Championship by beating Auburn 28–7. This was also the first SEC Championship Game with new SEC on CBS announcer Brad Nessler replacing Verne Lundquist, who retired in 2016. The game was televised nationally by CBS.
The 2018 Sugar Bowl was a College Football Playoff semifinal bowl game that was played on January 1, 2018 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. The 84th Sugar Bowl game, it matched two of the top four teams selected by the Selection Committee-Alabama from the SEC and Clemson from the ACC to compete to face the winner of the Rose Bowl (Georgia) in the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship played on January 8, 2018, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. It was one of the 2017–18 bowl games that concluded the 2017 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Allstate insurance company, the game is officially known as the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
The 2018 SEC Championship Game was played on Saturday, December 1, 2018, in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, to determine the 2018 football champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game featured the East Division champion Georgia against the West Division champion Alabama. Georgia, the East Division Champion, was the designated home team. The game was televised by CBS for the eighteenth straight year. Alabama came back from a 28–14 deficit in the third quarter to defeat Georgia, 35–28.
The Alabama–Georgia football rivalry is a college football rivalry game between the Crimson Tide of the University of Alabama and the Bulldogs of the University of Georgia. The two bordering state schools were charter members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1933 and played every season from 1944 to 1965. Despite no longer playing annually after 1992, Alabama and Georgia have met in several nationally important matchups in the twenty-first century, including four SEC championship games and two College Football Playoff national championship games since 2010, bringing the rivalry back into national prominence.
The 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game played on January 10, 2022, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The eighth College Football Playoff National Championship, the game determined the national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for the 2021 season. It was the final game of the 2021–22 College Football Playoff (CFP) and, aside from the all star games following after, was the cumulating game of the 2021–22 bowl season. The game featured the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide and the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs, both of whom represented the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game began at 8:16 p.m. EST and was broadcast by ESPN. Sponsored by telecommunications company AT&T, the game was officially known as the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T. Georgia entered the game seeking its second national championship, while Alabama entered seeking its 19th.
The 2019 SEC Championship Game was a college football game played on Saturday, December 7, 2019, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The game determined the 2019 champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game featured the East division champions the University of Georgia Bulldogs (Georgia) and the West division champions the Louisiana State University Tigers (LSU). Beginning in 1992, this served as the conference's 28th annual championship game. After a dominating performance by transfer quarterback Joe Burrow, LSU became the 2019 SEC champions winning the game by a final score of 37–10. The strong performance not only earned LSU the 2019 SEC Championship trophy but it contributed to earning the No.1 seed in the 2019 College Football Playoffs. After their loss, Georgia moved to the fifth spot in the rankings and earned a bid to play in their second consecutive Allstate Sugar Bowl.
The 2020 SEC Championship Game presented by Dr. Pepper was a college football game played on Saturday, December 19, 2020, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The game determined the 2020 champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game, the 29th SEC Championship, featured the Florida Gators, champions of the East division, and the Alabama Crimson Tide, champions of the West division.
The 2021 SEC Championship Game was a college football game that was played on December 4, 2021, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. It was the 30th edition of the SEC Championship Game and determined the champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) for the 2021 season. The game began at 4:00 p.m. EST and was aired on CBS. The contest featured the Georgia Bulldogs, the East Division champions, and the Alabama Crimson Tide, the West Division champions.
The 2022 SEC Championship Game was a college football game played on December 3, 2022, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. It was the 31st edition of the SEC Championship Game and determined the champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) for the 2022 season. The game began at 4:00 p.m. EST on CBS. The contest featured the LSU Tigers, the West Division champions and the Georgia Bulldogs of the East Division.
The 2023 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season marked the Crimson Tide's 129th overall season, 90th as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and 32nd and final season within the SEC Western Division, with Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC on July 1, 2024. They played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and were led by Nick Saban in his 17th and final season as head coach.
The 2024–25 College Football Playoff is an upcoming single-elimination postseason tournament that will determine the national champion of the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It is the 11th edition of the College Football Playoff (CFP) and involves 12 teams as ranked by the College Football Playoff poll. The 2024–25 playoff is the first to use a 12-team bracket; the previous 10 iterations of the College Football Playoff contained only four teams. The five highest-ranked conference champions, including one from the Group of Five conferences, have been selected to compete, along with the next seven highest-ranked teams. Furthermore, the four highest-ranked conference champions each received a first-round bye in the playoff.
