Written from 35 named sources · Oct 29 · first result SEC Football in the Revenue-Sharing Era: Spending, Results and Coaching Costs Header Detail Report date October 29, 2026 Results snapshot Games through Saturday, October 24, 2026 Poll snapshot AP Top 25 released Sunday, October 25, 2026 [1] Coverage All 16 SEC programs: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt Season status Each team has played 7 or 8 games. The SEC Championship Game is December 5, 2026 [7][31]. Money labels Disclosed, Reported, Modeled. NR means not reported in the material reviewed; it is never treated as zero. Methodology Disclosed means a figure from an official filing, statute, league release or university release. Reported means a figure published by a news or data outlet. Modeled means a tracker's estimate. Almost all 2026 football roster-spending figures are Modeled. Third-party NIL (name, image and likeness) payments are private. The nil-ncaa.com model assigns the same $15.6 million of school-paid revenue sharing to every Power Four program, so differences between schools come only from its estimate of outside NIL [18][20]. The Sideline calls its figures independent market valuations, not school payroll or verified contracts [5]. Records are drawn from two independent outlets that agree for all 16 teams: The Rebel Walk, an Ole Miss-focused site (Oct. 25, 2026) [4], and Vols Wire via Yahoo Sports (Week 8) [34]. SEC Sports' standings page confirms the top three [8]. The Wikipedia standings box is dated October 15, so it is not used for records [7]. AP rankings come from the AP release [1] and match the Rebel Walk table [4]. The standing rule used here is not the SEC's official tiebreaker. Teams are ordered by conference winning percentage, then by overall winning percentage. Teams still tied share a rank (1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 6, 6 …). Analytical limit. With 5 or 6 conference games played, any link between spending and standing is descriptive only. It is not evidence of cause. Summary: three research questions Question Finding Supporting table Does roster spending predict SEC winning? Weakly and unevenly so far. The eight highest Modeled spenders have a combined 22–17 conference record (.564). The eight lowest have 17–22 (.436). Rank correlation is about +0.35 (my calculation, n = 16). The largest outliers run both ways: Kentucky is 14th in spending and 1st in standing, while Texas A&M is 3rd in spending and 15th in standing. Parts 1, 2 Does the SEC spending advantage show up against other conferences? Modeled spending is higher in the SEC. Results are mixed. SEC teams are 10–2 against ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 opponents through Oct. 24 (Wikipedia only). Two unbeaten teams, Utah and UCLA, have below-SEC-median Modeled costs. Parts 1, 3 What did schools get for the coaching changes? Five fired coaches triggered about $136.1 million in Reported buyouts. Successors' 2026 records range from Kentucky at 7–1 to Arkansas at 3–4. No payment terms or payer details were found. Part 6 Part 1: 2026 roster spending nil-ncaa rank School Total, nil-ncaa (Modeled) School revenue sharing (Modeled) Outside NIL (Modeled) Sideline football (Modeled, Oct. 13) 1 Texas $46.485M $15.600M $30.885M $50.0M 2 LSU $40.966M $15.600M $25.366M $48.5M 3 Texas A&M $36.797M $15.600M $21.197M $47.5M 4 Alabama $36.490M $15.600M $20.890M $40.0M 5 Georgia $35.173M $15.600M $19.573M $32.5M 6 Tennessee $33.696M $15.600M $18.096M $42.0M 7 Ole Miss $31.815M $15.600M $16.215M $42.0M 8 Oklahoma $31.470M $15.600M $15.870M $31.0M 9 Auburn $28.852M $15.600M $13.252M $33.0M 10 Florida $28.524M $15.600M $12.924M $36.0M 11 Missouri $27.505M $15.600M $11.905M $28.5M 12 South Carolina $27.355M $15.600M $11.755M $33.5M 13 Vanderbilt $25.457M $15.600M $9.857M NR 14 Kentucky $24.538M $15.600M $8.938M $24.5M 15 Arkansas $23.935M $15.600M $8.335M NR 16 Mississippi State $22.942M $15.600M $7.342M $27.5M Sources: nil-ncaa.com, date not stated [12]. The Sideline football values are from [5] and, for Kentucky and Mississippi State, [2]. Both models are single-source Modeled estimates. The Sideline does not cover Arkansas or Vanderbilt in the pages reviewed. The two models disagree on order. The Sideline places Tennessee and Ole Miss ($42.0M each) above Alabama ($40.0M). It places Georgia ($32.5M) below ten other SEC schools. nil-ncaa places Georgia 5th. The figures are not averaged. Conference Median roster cost (Modeled) Revenue sharing (Modeled) Outside NIL (Modeled) SEC median minus conference SEC $30.161M $15.600M $14.561M n/a Big Ten $24.408M $15.600M $8.808M $5.753M Big 12 $21.607M $15.600M $6.007M $8.554M ACC $21.240M $15.600M $5.640M $8.921M Source: nil-ncaa.com [18][20]. All four conferences carry the same $15.6M revenue-sharing figure, so the gaps come entirely from estimated outside NIL. House settlement cap and football share Item Figure Label Source and date 2025-26 cap $20.5M Disclosed (settlement term, as described by NCSL and the NCAA Q&A) [14] (June 2025); [22] (Feb. 11, 2026) 2026-27 cap ~$21.3M Reported nil-ncaa.com [20]; Schatzel newsletter, 2026 [16] 2026-27 cap, conflicting $21.58M, described as a College Sports Commission announcement Reported (single source, not seen directly) The Sideline, Oct. 13, 2026 [2] Scholarship offset About $500K typically deducted from the 2026-27 cap Reported nil-ncaa.com [23] Football share of the pool ~75%, about $15.4M of $20.5M Reported Premier College Guidance, June 2026 [3] Football share, conflicting 75% of $20.8M, which is $15.6M Modeled nil-ncaa.com [23] Football and men's basketball combined Up to 90% Reported NCSL [14] The NCAA Q&A says the cap is recalculated every three years and rises 4% in years two and three [22]. Non-SEC benchmark. Penn State's revenue-sharing figure is about $18.4M, from a public filing as described by SportsEpreneur. This is Reported, revenue sharing only, and the filing itself was not reviewed [19]. Penn State's total commitment is NR. nil-ncaa's Modeled cost for Penn State is $29.208M [18]. The model's uniform $15.6M therefore sits below the one disclosed benchmark found. No SEC school's comparable official figure appeared in the material reviewed (NR). Non-SEC top Modeled costs (nil-ncaa): Oregon $43.405M, Ohio State $40.421M, Miami $38.629M, Notre Dame $38.448M [18]. Summary. The models establish a spending order and an SEC median advantage. Neither measures what schools actually paid. Part 2: 2026 results, standings and spend versus standing Positive "spend minus standing" means the school's standing rank is better than its spending rank. School Overall SEC Standing rank AP, Oct. 25 Spend rank Spend minus standing Kentucky 7–1 5–1 1 9 14 +13 Georgia 6–1 4–1 2 3 5 +3 Alabama 6–2 4–2 3 10 4 +1 Tennessee 6–2 3–2 4 (tie) 16 6 +2 LSU 6–2 3–2 4 (tie) 15 2 −2 Ole Miss 5–2 3–2 6 (tie) 12 7 +1 Florida 5–2 3–2 6 (tie) 17 10 +4 Missouri 5–2 2–2 8 (tie) 23 11 +3 Texas 5–2 2–2 8 (tie) 11 1 −7 Oklahoma 4–3 2–2 10 Unranked 8 −2 Mississippi State 4–3 2–3 11 (tie) Unranked 16 +5 Auburn 4–3 2–3 11 (tie) Unranked 9 −2 South Carolina 4–3 2–3 11 (tie) Unranked (received votes) 12 +1 Arkansas 3–4 1–3 14 Unranked 15 +1 Texas A&M 4–4 1–4 15 Unranked 3 −12 Vanderbilt 3–5 0–5 16 Unranked 13 −3 Sources: records [4][34]; AP ranks [1][4]; spend ranks from nil-ncaa (Modeled) [12]. Rank differences and the tie rule are my calculations. Georgia, Arkansas, Florida and Missouri were idle on Oct. 24 [4]. Spending group (nil-ncaa rank) Combined SEC record Winning pct. Top eight: Texas, LSU, Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Oklahoma 22–17 .564 Bottom eight: Auburn, Florida, Missouri, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi State 17–22 .436 These records include games between the two groups. Largest overperformers: Kentucky (+13), Mississippi State (+5), Florida (+4). Largest underperformers: Texas A&M (−12), Texas (−7), Vanderbilt (−3). Permanent opponents and strength of schedule. The SEC schedule release confirms three annual opponents per school and nine conference games, but the page reviewed does not list the pairings [31]. The pairings are NR. Preseason strength-of-schedule rankings from two outlets are NR, so schedule effects on the gaps cannot be assessed. The ESPN FPI page was reviewed but is a power rating, not a schedule ranking [24]. Related fine. The SEC fined South Carolina $500,000 for a field rush after its 27–24 win over Tennessee. The fine is payable to Tennessee and could be reduced to $100,000 (Reported) [1]. Summary. Rank correlation between Modeled spending and standing is about +0.35. That is modest, and it is driven partly by two extreme cases, Kentucky and Texas A&M. Part 3: The SEC versus the rest of the Power Four 2026 regular-season games against ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 opponents (SEC team's score listed first). All results come from Wikipedia only (single source) [7]. The SEC schedule release shows no further Power Four games in Weeks 4 through 8 [31]. Date SEC team Opponent (conference) Score Sep 5 Auburn (neutral site) Baylor (Big 12) W 17–16 Sep 5 LSU Clemson (ACC) W 51–10 Sep 6 Ole Miss (neutral site) Louisville (ACC) W 41–38 Sep 11 Missouri Kansas (Big 12) W 38–21 Sep 12 Mississippi State Minnesota (Big Ten) W 38–13 Sep 12 Texas A&M Arizona State (Big 12) W 48–20 Sep 12 Oklahoma Michigan (Big Ten) L 10–17 Sep 12 Tennessee Georgia Tech (ACC) W 45–24 Sep 12 Texas Ohio State (Big Ten) W 24–23 Sep 12 Arkansas Utah (Big 12) L 10–43 Sep 19 Alabama Florida State (ACC) W 50–36 Sep 19 Vanderbilt NC State (ACC) W 35–31 Conference SEC record SEC points Opponent points ACC 5–0 222 139 Big Ten 2–1 72 53 Big 12 3–1 113 100 Notre Dame 0–0 NR NR Total 10–2 407 292 Remaining Power Four games (per [31]): Florida at Florida State (Nov. 28 in the SEC release; the Wikipedia week table lists Nov. 27), Georgia Tech at Georgia, Louisville at Kentucky, and South Carolina at Clemson (all Nov. 28). AP Top 25 composition, Oct. 25 (my count from [1]): Conference Ranked teams SEC 9 Big 12 6 Big Ten 5 ACC 3 Independent (Notre Dame) 1 Pac-12 (Boise State) 1 AP top 10 versus Modeled cost (nil-ncaa) [1][18]. Several top-ranked non-SEC teams have below-SEC-median Modeled costs. The SEC median is $30.161M. AP rank Team Modeled cost 1 Miami $38.629M 2 Ohio State $40.421M 3 Georgia $35.173M 4 Indiana $27.253M 5 Notre Dame $38.448M 6 Utah $21.947M 7 UCLA $24.332M 8 BYU $23.041M 9 Kentucky $24.538M 10 Alabama $36.490M Utah and UCLA were two of the three unbeaten FBS teams after Oct. 24 [1]. Not found (NR): SEC records against the Big Ten, ACC and Big 12 in 2024-25; 2025-26 bowl and playoff results; the 2023 national champion. Indiana is described as the "defending national champion" [1]. Ohio State's 2024-25 title is mentioned in passing [11]. Summary. The SEC is unbeaten against the ACC and has the most ranked teams. Its 10–2 interconference record is a small sample, and spending cannot be tied to it. Part 4: Roster turnover 2026 recruiting class rank by outlet and total signees (Wikipedia, single source) [7]: School ESPN On3/Rivals 24/7 Signees Alabama 5 6 2 27 Arkansas 44 44 46 25 Auburn 29 42 31 21 Florida 16 16 17 21 Georgia 6 5 6 33 Kentucky 51 53 60 16 LSU 12 12 11 19 Mississippi State 34 28 23 32 Missouri 32 27 34 23 Oklahoma 17 15 15 25 Ole Miss 26 26 22 23 South Carolina 25 18 14 19 Tennessee 8 9 8 31 Texas 3 10 7 25 Texas A&M 7 7 10 27 Vanderbilt 33 31 33 23 ESPN ranks only the top 75 classes. Transfer-portal additions, departures, transfer-class rankings and players who followed new head coaches are NR for all 16 schools. Summary. Kentucky has the lowest-ranked class and the fewest signees, and also the best conference record. Class rank shows no clear link to results at this point. Part 5: 2025 season as a test case Item Result 2025 overall and SEC records, all 16 schools NR 2025 bowl and playoff results NR, except that Ole Miss made the College Football Playoff and reached the semifinals [4] Football-only 2025 spending series None found. Both models cover 2026 only. Department-wide budgets were not substituted. Summary. The 2025 pattern cannot be compared with 2026. Part 6: Coaching changes, buyouts and year-one results School Coach Date fired or left Games remaining when fired Successor Successor 2026 record (overall, SEC) Arkansas Sam Pittman Sept. 28, 2025 7 Ryan Silverfield 3–4, 1–3 Florida Billy Napier Oct. 19, 2025 (team was 3–4) 5 Jon Sumrall 5–2, 3–2 LSU Brian Kelly Oct. 26, 2025 4 Lane Kiffin 6–2, 3–2 Auburn Hugh Freeze Nov. 2, 2025 3 Alex Golesh 4–3, 2–3 Kentucky Mark Stoops Dec. 1, 2025 per [15][7]; Nov. 30 per [11] After season Will Stein 7–1, 5–1 Ole Miss Lane Kiffin (left for LSU) Nov. 30, 2025 n/a Pete Golding 5–2, 3–2 Sources: [7][15] for dates and games remaining; records from [4][34]. Records at the time of firing are NR except Napier's. Kelly was fired after a 49–25 loss to Texas A&M [17]. Buyouts, shown side by side (all Reported). Coach USA Today / UGA Wire, Dec. 1, 2025 [15] Saturday Down South, Oct. 8, 2025 database [11][25] Front Office Sports, Nov. 2, 2025 [21] InvestigateTV, Jan. 12, 2026 [17] Kelly (LSU) $53.3M $53,293,333 $53M ~$54M Stoops (Kentucky) $37.7M $37,687,500 NR ~$38M Napier (Florida) $20.4M $20,428,333 $21.2M ~$21M Freeze (Auburn) $15.4M $15,437,500 $15.8M "nearly $16M" Pittman (Arkansas) $9.3M $7,000,000 (Dec. 1 table) $9.8M $9.3M Five-coach total ~$136.1M NR NR $138.6M These are contract figures, not confirmed cash paid. Payment schedules, offsets and the identity of the payer are NR. InvestigateTV notes that a reduced Arkansas buyout, saving $3.6M, would have applied had Pittman been kept longer [17]. Kiffin. The remaining Ole Miss contract value was $36.6 million, Reported as not owed [15]; Saturday Down South also lists $36.6M [11]. Kiffin's new LSU buyout is listed at $72.8M [11]. LSU paid Ole Miss "hundreds of thousands" tied to his buyout and playoff wins, with the exact amount NR [17]. His LSU contract is Reported at $91M [17]. Buyout as a share of Modeled 2026 roster cost. This compares a Reported figure with a Modeled one and is not an accounting measure. School Buyout (Reported, [15]) Modeled cost [12] Ratio LSU $53.293M $40.966M 130.1% Kentucky $37.688M $24.538M 153.6% Florida $20.428M $28.524M 71.6% Auburn $15.438M $28.852M 53.5% Arkansas $9.300M $23.935M 38.9% LSU and Kentucky use the Saturday Down South exact figures [11]. Arkansas uses the USA Today figure of $9.3M; the $7.0M Saturday Down South figure would give 29.2%. Successor contract terms are NR except Kiffin's. In-season 2026 SEC head-coaching changes: none identified. The AP coverage reports firings at Maryland, NC State and Baylor, none in the SEC [1]. Wikipedia's in-season section is blank [7]. Summary. Five firings produced about $136–139 million in Reported buyouts. Four of the six successors are ranked in the AP poll: Kentucky (No. 9), Ole Miss (No. 12), LSU (No. 15) and Florida (No. 17) [1]. Auburn is 4–3 and Arkansas is 3–4. Results are partial-season. Part 7: Kentucky case study Date Opponent (AP rank at kickoff) Site Result (Kentucky first) Notes Sep 5 Youngstown State (FCS) Home W 45–13 Sep 12 Alabama (No. 12) Home L 17–45 Sep 19 Texas A&M (No. 9) Away W 31–21 Sep 26 South Alabama (unranked) Home W 45–21 Oct 3 South Carolina (unranked) Away W 35–34 OT One score, overtime Oct 10 LSU (No. 10) Home W 35–34 OT One score, overtime Oct 17 Oklahoma (unranked) Away W, score NR Kentucky ranked No. 15 [7] Oct 24 Vanderbilt (unranked) Home W 34–17 Sources: [7] for game results and rankings; [1] for the Vanderbilt score and the six-game streak; [4] for the Oct. 24 result. Kentucky measure Result Modeled spending rank 14th of 16, $24.538M (Modeled) [12]; Sideline $24.5M (Modeled) [2] Recruiting class rank ESPN 51, On3 53, 24/7 60 [7] Preseason media poll Predicted 14th of 16 [7] Transfer additions and transfer-class rank NR Stoops buyout $37.688M (Reported, [11]); $37.7M [15]; ~$38M [17] Buyout versus Modeled cost 153.6% Preseason strength of schedule NR Remaining schedule Oct. 31 open date; at Tennessee (No. 16) Nov. 7; Florida (No. 17) Nov. 14; at Missouri (No. 23) Nov. 21; Louisville Nov. 28 [1][31] Summary. Kentucky is first in the SEC standings and No. 9 in the AP poll with the 14th-ranked Modeled roster cost. It holds the longest SEC winning streak, six games. Three of its five conference wins came against ranked or then-ranked opponents (Texas A&M, LSU) or in overtime. The Tennessee, Florida and Missouri games will test the position. Part 8: Disclosure and transparency Item Result Louisiana HB 608 / Act 818: what it shields, what remains public, effective date NR. The bill text was not in the material reviewed. Outcome of the media lawsuit against LSU NR LSU's disclosed annual revenue-sharing total NR Other states Colorado exempts athlete payments from open-records laws. Tennessee bars compensation limits not required by federal law or a court order and protects colleges from lawsuits (Reported, [14]). Other SEC states: NR. Federal and settlement reporting Participating schools must report revenue-share agreements and benefits to the CAPS system and complete annual attestations [22]. This is not a public disclosure. Vanderbilt Private. nil-ncaa's operating-results tables cover public universities only and omit Vanderbilt (and Auburn) [12]. No claim is made about what Act 818 shields or requires, because no source text was available. Part 9: Boosters and collectives College Sports Commission (CSC) review totals. These figures differ in date and measure and are not blended. Figure Label Source and date More than 21,000 deals; ~$166.5M approved; ~$29.3M rejected, through early 2026 Reported Premier College Guidance, June 2026 [3] ~$300M approved; more than $200M rejected or under review Reported Schatzel newsletter, summer 2026, citing Yahoo Sports [16] $355M cleared as of July 1, 2026 Reported nil-ncaa.com [20] Associated entities made up about 63% of deal volume and 78% of deal value in January–February 2026 (Reported, [3]). Court rulings. A June 25, 2026 magistrate ruling declined to declare multimedia rights companies categorically outside "associated entity" review [16]. Review threshold. Deals of $600–$15,000 are now exempt from the compensation-range check unless an athlete has accumulated $50,000 in associated deals in a year [16]. Pending legislation. Section 114 of the Protect College Sports Act would count associated-entity deals toward the cap. The bill is pending [3][16]. Collectives. nil-ncaa reports collectives' influence has diminished at many schools as activities moved in-house [20]. SEC booster giving. Average booster contributions were $65.8M per SEC school in FY2025 versus $65.2M in FY2024 (Reported, public schools only, [12]). Donor counts, fundraising totals by school, effects on academic giving and IRS treatment of collectives are NR. Part 10: Conference finances Item Result SEC FY2024-25 total revenue; distribution to long-standing members; pandemic-era loan details; repayment years NR Big Ten, ACC and Big 12 per-school distributions NR Texas and Oklahoma full-share date NR Partial proxy (Reported, single source, compiled from NCAA reporting by nil-ncaa). The "Media, NCAA & Conference" revenue line is not the same as an SEC distribution [12]. Entity FY2025 media, NCAA and conference revenue SEC school average (14 public schools) $61.656M Texas $18.199M Oklahoma $15.347M Power Four school average [20] $59.253M The source notes that Texas and Oklahoma received only a fractional share of the SEC media contract in 2025 [12]. Bottom line nil-ncaa.com's Modeled SEC median roster cost, $30.161M, is above the Big Ten ($24.408M), Big 12 ($21.607M) and ACC ($21.240M); the gap is attributed entirely to estimated outside NIL, and the figures are not audited payments (Part 1). Through Oct. 24, the eight highest Modeled spenders are 22–17 in SEC play and the eight lowest are 17–22. The largest exceptions are Kentucky (14th in spending, 1st in standing) and Texas A&M (3rd in spending, 15th in standing). The sample is partial and shows association only (Part 2). SEC teams are 10–2 against ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 opponents through Oct. 24, per a single source. Unbeaten Utah and UCLA have Modeled costs below the SEC median (Part 3). Reported buyouts for five fired SEC coaches total about $136.1M (USA Today) or $138.6M (InvestigateTV), not confirmed as cash paid. Kentucky's Reported Stoops buyout equals 153.6% of its Modeled roster cost, and its successor is 7–1 (Parts 6, 7). Sources [1] AP Top 25 poll: Ohio replaces BYU at No. 2, as Miami keeps No. 1 AP News — https://apnews.com/live/top-25-college-football-poll-10-25-2026 [2] Top NIL Schools 2026: Rankings & Spending NIL Tracker — https://thesideline.co/nil-tracker [3] Post-House Settlement Recruiting Guide 2026: NCAA Revenue Sharing, Roster Limits, NIL Go, Written Offers Premier College Guidance — https://premiercollegeguide.com/post-house-settlement-recruiting-guide.html [4] SEC Football Standings 2026: Updated Weekly — https://therebelwalk.com/2026/10/sec-football-standings [5] Top Football NIL Schools 2026: Spending Rankings — https://thesideline.co/nil-tracker/football [7] 2026 Southeastern Conference football season - Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Southeastern_Conference_football_season [8] Standings - Football — https://www.secsports.com/standings/football [11] College Football Coaches Salaries and Buyouts - Saturday Down South — https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/college-football/coaches/salaries [12] SEC Schools – NIL & NCAA Revenue Sharing – NIL & NCAA Revenue Sharing by School& NIL — https://nil-ncaa.com/sec [14] What the NCAA Settlement Means for Colleges and State... — https://www.ncsl.org/resources/details/what-the-ncaa-settlement-means-for-colleges-and-state-legislatures [15] Ranking the buyouts of fired SEC football coaches — https://ugawire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/bulldogs/football/2025/12/01/ranking-buyouts-fired-sec-football-coaches/87552143007 [16] The Cap Is the Floor: How Schools Are Outspending the House Settlement Before It’s a Year Old — https://kimschatzel.substack.com/p/the-cap-is-the-floor-how-schools [17] College football buyouts reach record $228 million in 2025 as fans demand reform — https://www.investigatetv.com/2026/01/12/college-football-buyouts-reach-record-228-million-2025-fans-demand-reform [18] NCAA Football – NIL, Revenue Sharing & Athletic Scholarships – NIL & NCAA Revenue Sharing by School& NIL — https://nil-ncaa.com/football [19] College Football NIL Spending in 2026: Why $40M-$50M Rosters Are Becoming Real — https://sportsepreneur.com/college-football-nil-spending [20] NIL & NCAA Revenue Sharing by School& NIL — https://nil-ncaa.com [21] College Football Buyouts Hit $185M As Auburn Fires Hugh ... — https://frontofficesports.com/college-football-buyouts-hit-185m-as-auburn-fires-hugh-freeze [22] Implementation of the House Settlement — https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/governance/d1/legislation/Feb2026D1Gov_PhaseSevenSetQuestionandAnswer.pdf [23] NCAA Track & Field – NIL, Revenue Sharing & Athletic Scholarships – NIL & NCAA Revenue Sharing by School& NIL — https://nil-ncaa.com/track-field [24] 2026 SEC College Football Power Index - ESPN — https://www.espn.com/college-football/fpi/_/group/8 [25] Every SEC coach's buyout for 2025 college football season — https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/news/college-football/every-sec-coachs-buyout-for-2025-college-football-season [31] 2026 SEC Football Schedule - Southeastern Conference — https://www.secsports.com/championships/2026-sec-football-schedule [34] 2026 SEC football power rankings after Week 8 - Yahoo Sports — https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/2026-sec-football-power-rankings-033437154.html Coach Buyouts (2025) : r/CFB — https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/1o52jx2/coach_buyouts_2025 College football buyouts reach record $