Why an SEC Network Is a Great Idea

It is all but a certainty that the Southeastern Conference will embark on creating its own television network.

However, before everyone gets all up in arms, I don’t think that the SEC would be stupid enough to trade all of its contracts for the network.  The only games that would be affected would be the Raycom Sports games and a game or two from the ESPN2 or ESPNU networks.

I fully expect CBS to pony up a huge amount of money to retain the prime selection of SEC games, and ESPN will be the number two selector.

I am all for a new SEC Network.  Commissioner Mike Slive is embarking on this exploration at the height of this period of SEC dominance.  That was part of the problem of the Big Ten Network—there was no excitement around the network, just more questions and confusion.

Looking at the Big Ten Network schedule so far, here are the games announced for 2008.

Aug. 30            Western Kentucky at Indiana/Maine at Iowa

    Northern Illinois at Minnesota/Youngstown St. at Ohio St.

    Coastal Carolina at Penn St./Akron at Wisconsin

Sep. 6               Eastern Illinois at Illinois/Murray St. at Indiana

                        Eastern Michigan at Michigan St./Northern Colorado at Purdue

                        Marshall at Wisconsin

Sep. 13              La-Lafayette at Illinois/Iowa St. at Iowa

                        Montana St. at Minnesota/Southern Illinois at Northwestern

That is just the first three weeks.  I will spare you the torment because it gets no better in conference play.  I was shocked that Northwestern/Duke was bypassed for the slate on Sep. 6.

This reveals the nature of the problem—only die-hard fans will watch these games.

What would the SEC TV Network bring?  Pretty much any game that SEC fans groan to get to at 11 in the morning.  Raycom gets an interesting match up between Hawaii and Florida on Week One, which beats any game the Big Ten puts out on Week One. 

Will any SEC game garner national attention with a SEC Network?  No.  But in 2007, Alabama and Tennessee fans were shocked that they were put on regional coverage.

I can guarantee that college football fans would switch on the SEC Network for an Alabama/Tennessee game. 

All in all, why be for an SEC network?  Simple: best conference, best competition, best games.  The more the SEC can expose its conference nationally, the better.