SEC Football: Permanent Cross-Division Rivalries Are Safe, as They Should Be

One of the unintended consequences of conference expansion is the headache associated with the format of future schedules.  According to Seth Emerson, Georgia beat reporter for the Macon Telegraph and the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, the future SEC schedule will include historical cross-division rivalries.

Emerson caught up with Larry Templeton, the man who's heading up the SEC's transition team for new members Texas A&M and Missouri.  Among the nuggets from the Q&A is Templeton's assertion that the Auburn/Georgia and Tennessee/Alabama rivalries are safe. 

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"I would say that the permanent games are probably as safe as anything that's on the table," Templeton said. "I think there is a strong commitment to keep the traditional games in this league. And to do that you have to keep the permanent opponents."

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Good for the SEC.  The foundation of the conference is its tradition, and while there certainly will be casualties associated with conference expansion, the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry and the Third Saturday in October shouldn't be among them.

It's also interesting to note that Templeton told Emerson that the prospect of the nine-game conference schedule isn't off the table just yet.

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"It was on the table and is still technically on the table. There have been no votes to say this won't happen," Templeton said. "There are some institutions that have some interest (in nine SEC games). I don't have a feel that it's strong enough to place in there. But I've been in enough A.D.'s meetings where that pendulum changes from one to the other."

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We are starting to see the resistance to nine-game schedules weaken; and by the time a decision is finally reached on the format moving forward, a nine-game schedule will be part of the equation.  As we told you two weeks ago, the networks want inventory and a nine-game conference schedule is a sure-fire way to guarantee them that inventory.

Money talks.

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