Though most fans are gearing up for March Madness, it is never too early for SEC fans to begin thinking about the 2024 football season. One annual rite of passage that signals the start of the football season is SEC Media Days and on Thursday, the official schedule for this year's event was released.
This year, SEC Media Days will take place July 15-18 in Dallas, Texas. It will be the first time ever that the conference has held its annual media scrum in Big D, which is fitting given that two schools in close proximity to Dallas, Texas and Oklahoma, will be joining the league this summer.
Of course, Fayetteville is not all that far from Dallas either so there might be extra attention on Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman. Now, we know when the head Razorback will be speaking to the media in Dallas.
Sam Pittman will speak on Thursday, July 18
Razorback fans will have to be patient when waiting to hear from their head coach. That's because Pittman won't take to the microphone until the final day of the event, Thursday, July 18.
Also speaking that day will be Auburn's Hugh Freeze, Kentucky's Mark Stoops, and new Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko.
Coming off of a 4-8 season that saw the Hogs go just 1-7 in SEC games, Pittman may have to field some tough questions. In fact, many suggest that he is on the hot seat given that he's posted just a 23-25 overall record in four seasons.
Thus, Arkansas fans might be curious to see what he has to say about how he plans to turn the program around in year five. What's more, the brutal SEC media isn't likely to pull any punches when asking Pittman about his job security.
This year, Pittman's team will have a tough schedule to navigate. After starting off with UAPB in the opener, the Razorbacks then head to Stillwater, Oklahoma to face Oklahoma State. Then, a home game against UAB preceeds the conference opener at Auburn.
September ends with the annual game against Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas. Then, the Hogs will head to Tennessee for a showdown with the Volunteers.
After that comes an open week before the hated LSU Tigers come to Fayetteville. Next, the two Mississippi schools show up on the schedule with Arkansas making the trip to Mississippi State before hosting the Ole Miss Rebels.
Another open date then proceeds the much-anticipated home game against Texas on November 16. That is followed by a home tilt with Louisiana Tech and a trip to Missouri to close out the regular season.
In all, Pittman's team will face six teams that appear in the ESPN way-too-early 2024 rankings. Thus, SEC Media Days might be the start of a rather long season for Pittman and Co.
Full SEC Media Days schedule
Monday, July 15
LSU -- Brian Kelly
Ole Miss -- Lane Kiffin
South Carolina -- Shane Beamer
Vanderbilt -- Clark Lea
Tuesday, July 16
Georgia -- Kirby Smart
Missouri -- Eliah Drinkwitz
Oklahoma -- Brent Venables
Tennessee -- Josh Heupel
Wednesday, July 17
Alabama -- Kalen DeBoer
Florida -- Billy Napier
Mississippi State -- Jeff Lebby
Texas -- Steve Sarkisian
Thursday, July 18
Arkansas -- Sam Pittman
Auburn -- High Freeze
Kentucky -- Mark Stoops
Texas A&M -- Mike Elko