Florida Gators release 2012 football schedule

The Florida Gators football team’s 2012 schedule was officially released on Wednesday, seven weeks later than the 2011 version was made available one year go.

Due to Texas A&M and Missouri agreeing to be the 13th and 14th member institutions of the Southeastern Conference, the league was forced to make a number of adjustments to its schedule and released what it claims to be a one-year stop-gap version for 2012. This move gives the conference an additional year to formulate a supposed brand new rotation for 2013 and beyond.

The 2012 schedule is not based on any other previous or future scheduling formats. The SEC Athletics Directors will convene in Spring 2012 to begin formulating scheduling principles for the 2013 season and beyond.

Because of this decision, Florida’s first conference game will not be scheduled against Tennessee as it has been every year since 1996*. Instead the Gators will travel to College Station, TX on Sept. 8 and take on Texas A&M in the latter’s first-ever SEC game. UF will still face UT during the third week of the season, which is the same slot the two teams have been scheduled to squared off in since 1993*.

Additionally, Florida will neither receive its return game against Auburn (the second half of a traditional home-and-home rotation with a SEC West team) nor have Ole Miss, which was set to replace Alabama, added to its rotation. Missouri, which is now an annual SEC East opponent, will take over that spot this season.

The Gators will also see some fresh faces to end the regular season, squaring off against three-straight non-conference opponents for the first time since 1977.

The two constants for Florida’s SEC slate this year are LSU remaining on the schedule as the school’s annual SEC West opponent and facing Georgia in the ninth week of the season. All Gators games once again take place on Saturdays, and UF will still end the regular season against Florida State.

Sept. 1 – vs. Bowling Green
Sept. 8 – at Texas A&M
Sept. 15 – at Tennessee
Sept. 22 – vs. Kentucky
Sept. 29 – BYE
Oct. 6 – vs. LSU
Oct. 13 – at Vanderbilt
Oct. 20 – vs. South Carolina
Oct. 27 – vs. Georgia (Jacksonville, FL)
Nov. 3 – vs. Missouri
Nov. 10 – vs. Louisiana-Lafayette^ (Homecoming)
Nov. 17 – vs. Jacksonville State
Nov. 24 – at Florida State
Dec. 1 – SEC Championship (Atlanta, GA)

While the 2012 version of the schedule includes eight conference games (six division opponents, one “permanent” non-division opponent, one rotating non-division opponent), the league could expand to a nine-game SEC slate in 2013 and beyond.

* Florida-Tennessee was scheduled for the third week of the 2001 season but was played following UF’s tilt with Florida State due to the prior contest being cancelled because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
^ Florida was scheduled to host Louisiana-Lafayette first on Sept. 1 then on Sept. 8. UF paid $50,000 to move the game initially, and the SEC kicked in an additional $50,000 to move it again as part of the revamped 2012 schedule.