As the debate about future SEC schedule models intensifies, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin weighed in on a key matter that impacts the Georgia and Florida schedules.

When speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Stricklin made it clear that Floria wants the game to remain in Jacksonville going forward.

“There’s a lot of tradition there. Gators feel pretty strongly about that. It’s been there for decades,” Stricklin told reporters. I think it’s served both schools really well. I’d like to see it continue.”

Georgia defeated the Gators 34-7 last season when the two teams met. Since Kirby Smart became Georgia’s head coach, the Bulldogs are 4-2 in the rivalry. The two teams have met every year dating back to 1933, with the exception of 1943. Only the 1994 and 1995 contests were not played in Jacksonville, as the stadium was under construction in those years.

As it stands, the city is set to host the annual rivalry game through the 2023 season, with an option to also host through 2025.

Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks provided an update on the Georgia-Florida game when speaking at Georgia’s annual budget meeting in Greensboro, Ga., last week.

“We’re not in the discussion of that right now,” Brooks said. “We signed a deal a few years ago with an option for two more years (through 2023), we haven’t gotten into the weeds on that yet. We’ll discuss that at a different time. It just hasn’t been on our radar right now with other pressing matters.”

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Smart has lamented the lost recruiting weekend with the game being played at a neutral site. In even-numbered years when Georgia is the designated home team, the Bulldogs only get three conference home games.

A possible fix to that issue would be a nine-game conference schedule, which is being discussed this week at SEC spring meetings. Should that format be voted on and adopted for the 2025 season, it would ensure Georgia and Florida get at least four home SEC games a year.

“I think with the Florida-Georgia game in Jacksonville, you’d have four at home every year, which really kind of cleans that up,” Stricklin said. “Because some years we have three, and other years we have four.”

The alternative schedule model that has been put forth would be an eight-game model that does away with divisions. Both formats call for protected rivals, with the eight-game format having just one and the nine-game format having three. Both formats would ensure that Georgia and Florida play each other, even as divisions would disappear.

Georgia and Florida will meet once again this season in Jacksonville. The game is set for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on CBS. The Gators will be led by first-year head coach Billy Napier.

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