Will SEC Expansion Renew Old Rivalries?
by Jay Coulter on Jun 14, 2010 1:00 AM CDT
in Football
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PrintSay what you will, these conference realignment talks couldn't have come at a better time. If not for the actions of the Big Ten and PAC-10, the World Cup would still be front page news. I'm still groggy from America's riveting 1-1 tie with England on Saturday. Wake me up when Brandi Chastain takes her shirt off again.
Like I've said before, I've never been one for change when it comes to college football. If I had my way, Tulane and Sewanee would still be in the SEC. That said, I admit to being totally captivated by all this realignment talk. I'm very much in favor of keeping the SEC status quo; but with that notion long gone, it's now time to start thinking about what a new Southeastern Conference may look like two years from now.
As I write this, most of the so-called experts and talking heads say Texas A&M has already jumped ship to the SEC - only the formality of the actual invitation remains. If so, that's a huge win for the conference. Arkansas, long the consummate SEC outsider, now has a regional rival. The same goes for LSU. Forget money and television, for fans this makes the conference more interesting.
Assuming the Aggies are on board, the SEC now must add at least one more school and possibly three more institutions. What direction would you take if you were SEC Commissioner Mike Slive? Reports over the weekend say the conference is not interested in raiding the ACC. Count me among those who are not so sure.
The most logical candidates remain Florida State, Georgia Tech and Clemson. From a pure football point of view, these choices are no-brainers. But we all know, everything comes back to money and television exposure. If you are Slive, you have to ask yourself do these schools make the most sense financially. If they don't add significantly to the bottom line the answer is no. Going from a 12 slice pizza to a 16 slice pie means the pizza must be bigger or no one is happy.
Getting back to the fan point of view, imagine the possibilities of such an expansion. The Georgia-Georgia Tech game would again mean something beyond just bragging rights.The same goes for Florida-Florida State and South Carolina-Clemson. One of the great rivalries of the 20th century, Auburn-Georgia Tech would be renewed.
Auburn and Clemson, separated by only a few hours, would no longer be strangers to one another. In recent years (and days) we've seen what happens when these two tie up on the baseball diamond and football field. They've met 46 times in football, but only twice since 1971. And who can forget those great battles with FSU and Auburn back in the 1980's?
Could it be that a new super conference may actually rekindle old rivalries?
Beyond these schools, who else are possibilities? Louisville is intriguing from a basketball point of view, but they offer little else when it comes to football tradition and television viewership. Virginia Tech and Virginia have also been floated. While neither program gets the juices flowing like the ones mentioned above, they do expand the footprint of the SEC and have respectable athletic programs.
Another name mentioned prominently is Miami. Outside of a big television market, this program offers little. A commuter school with a small fanbase, the Hurricanes appear to be misfits when compared to other SEC programs. Then again, having the three major programs in Florida all part of the SEC has to be appealing to the conference's athletic directors and presidents.
If you thought last week was exciting, look for this week to be nirvana. The Texas schools should all make their decisions early in the week. That will likely lead to the SEC having to show its hand and formally invite Texas A&M. From there, it's a likely free for all between the Big Ten and the SEC as both try to solidify the East Coast.
Let's hope this year's football can match-up with the excitement of the off-season. It will have to mighty good to top what we are witnessing this summer.
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I'm not a huge World Cup fan, but...
…..my god! Was there EVER a more screwed up play where the USA scored? A two-year-old could have stopped that shot! Clearly, the goalie was looking ahead to where the ball need to go next. We’ve seen plenty of that in SEC football. Receiver thinks he has the pass, and is looking at where to run. Boink! Ball pops out, and the play goes sour!
…..Who adds to the SEC pie? TAMU does. The Austin market is huge. I can’t imagine all of the Texas state legislature guys letting that go through, though. We get Texas and TAMU, or SEC expansion in that direction gets blocked. Sorry, guys. I can’t imagine it turning out any other way. Can the Longhorns accept being just another shark in the pool, or do they require being top dog?
……In terms of other TV markets we don’t ALREADY have, it’s going to be Charlotte and Miami. Georgia Tech is nice, but a lot of Atlanta viewers are already SEC followers. And Miami’s basically an international city with diluted interests. If you want to REALLY add to your TV numbers, NC and NC State are where it’s at.
I too am for the status quo but ...
… if it’s coming, there could be no better addition than the second oldest football rivalry in the Deep South. Yes Auburn – Ga. Tech is that great old rivalry. They would be a good fit geographically, historically, traditionally, and It would be great to resurrect Auburn’s " Wreck Tech " parade. The parade and the hoop la surrounding this rivalry would be good for both schools.
AubTigerman
"The reason you come to Auburn is because of Auburn people.This is a special place, from the coaches all the way to the fans" - Andrew McCain OT
There are numerous rumors..
And we all know Mr. Slive is not going to tip his hand, but according to a TV report I saw over the weekend, Oklahoma is coming to the SEC also.
One of OU coaches was a guest speaker at some dinner, while the MC gave his speech, and they took time to eat, the MC turned to the OU coach and asked if he knew where they would be playing in two years. The OU coach said “It’s funny you should ask, as we were eating our running backs coach sent me a text saying it looks like we will be playing in the SEC” The crowd approval was very positive.
As crazy as this sounds, Think about the positives, The SEC would only have to move Auburn to the east and keep the IB as a permanent game.
Come and join me at http://trackemtigers.com
Virginia Tech could get us into the Washington, D.C. market
West Virginia could get us into the Pittsburgh market
I say Texas A&M, TCU, WVU, Virginia Tech
JD I agree with you with the exception of TCU.....
and only because they are a small school and really wouldn’t add that much to the deal. WVU and VaTech would be great additions IMO….and I know A&M would be a fantastic addition…..very wealthy school with great support from it’s fanbase. Ideally we would pull Texas and A&M but that’s not gonna happen….I wouldn’t want Texas Tech if they offered to pay for the membership…….I would take Mizzou before the Red Raiders. UNC would be a very good addition in the east as well but I also have a hard time seeing that happen. The only benefit of adding GaTech would be AU getting a traditional rivalry back and I would love that but they still left the SEC with arrogance and I am slow to forgive. It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
I picked TCU simply because they're better than Baylor
Missouri is an intriguing option. So, let’s swap TCU with Missouri in my scenario.
by jd is legend on Jun 14, 2010 3:42 PM CDT up reply actions
I agree about the quality of TCU Football being better than Baylor.....
that is a no brainer. Adding Baylor would be like having Vandy in the west.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
Todd, I agree on being conflicted over Tech.
I didn’t like the way they pulled out of the SEC either.
AubTigerman
"The reason you come to Auburn is because of Auburn people.This is a special place, from the coaches all the way to the fans" - Andrew McCain OT
by aubtigerman on Jun 15, 2010 10:45 AM CDT up reply actions
some will call me crazy...
but I think that NC State would be a great fit in the SEC… and would not be as hard to pull away from the ACC as people think. It doesn’t seem there really are that many rivalries for them in the ACC (coming from someone raised in NC) and though they could/would maintain the UNC rivalry as OOC, it’s not quite what it used to be.
My preferences in order: NC State, VA Tech, Oklahoma, Texas A&M
I don't like the idea of raiding the ACC.
The Big 12 is slowly disolving, and teams are jumping ship. If the SEC takes in some schools, let them be from the Big 12….er Big 10…no, already used…umm..Southwest Conference?
Upon moving to AL, I let my wife decide who she would root for. After one day at a new job full of Bama fans, she met me at the door with a hearty cry of "WAR EAGLE"
by SandMountainTiger on Jun 14, 2010 11:49 AM CDT reply actions
Don't think it's gonna happen anymore
Everything I’m reading suggests that the Big 12 will remain intact with 10 teams, thanks to some numbers their commish seemingly pulled out of thin air…
C’mon Texas A&M. Be the heel you’ve always wanted to be and blow this thing up.
TAMU sounds like
a feminine hygiene product. That being said, I like the idea I heard somewhere yesterday of Texas A&M and somebody else (Texas Tech, TCU?) joining the SEC West and Auburn moving to the SEC East. I would love to have Florida and Tennessee back every year, and Bama could be our regular from the other division.
Use
what’s on their helmet: aTm
Never before in the field of CFB recruiting, has much much been accomplished by so few, in the face of so many...
by War Eagle Atlanta on Jun 14, 2010 5:12 PM CDT up reply actions
This is good news.....
the Pac ? will stay the same ole top heavy whatever and TCU will very likely be asked to join the Big Twelve along with a yet to be named school…(yes this is all my conjecture). The only bad that could come from it would be if Rkansas bolted for the Big Twelve and left the SEC looking for a replacement (ok so it wouldn’t be all that bad but still). Although I don’t think the Warthogs would leave the SEC dollars to go the Big Twelve to provide OU and UT another whipping boy for less money. Which leads to the question “who does the Big Twelve go after to replace CU and NU?”. I still think TCU would get one slot not sure who the other might be…….Tulsa? probably not. Houston? doubt it. Boise State? Possibly….Utah or BYU? Maybe. Leave the spot open and do away with a playoff game? Hard to think that the conference would leave all that money on the table.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
Good points, Todd
I think I will borrow some of them for tomorrow.
Never before in the field of CFB recruiting, has much much been accomplished by so few, in the face of so many...
by War Eagle Atlanta on Jun 14, 2010 9:10 PM CDT up reply actions
I've heard BYU and Air Force
I would assume Air Force to try and get back the Denver market…but I’d imagine Air Force would have about as nationally distributed alumni base as any school
by jd is legend on Jun 14, 2010 9:50 PM CDT up reply actions
So....
ESPN is reporting that the two Texas teams and the two Oklahoma teams are staying put, which is just great with me, because this was starting to get too complicated for my simple mind. However, what happens to the names of the Big 10 and the Big 12 now. Seems like an inversion is taking place. How about the “up there” and “over there” conference? It all makes my head hurt.
A&M would have been a nice addition.
….Big TV market, not a big threat to disrupt the current power structure. As I said before, though, it wasn’t really going to happen without Texas. The rivals over at RBR have summed up nicely the reaction of Aggie fans. I don’t always approve of what RBR does, but their “meltdown” threads are instructive. As always, think of your school before you post!
http://www.rollbamaroll.com/2010/6/14/1518213/ever-wonder-how-those-aggie-jokes
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