SEC Spring Meetings: Missouri vs. Arkansas Is a Logical Cross-Division Rivalry

The SEC Spring Meeting in Destin, Fla. routinely provides SEC coaches and administrators the opportunity to lobby for changes that benefit the conference, and one of the more interesting nuggets that came out of day one of the event was the news that Arkansas and Missouri will become permanent cross-division rivals under the yet-to-be-determined scheduling format.

According to Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel has been told that he will play Arkansas as his permanent cross-division rival under the new SEC scheduling format. Arkansas had been paired with South Carolina since the two teams joined the SEC in 1992.

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Missouri coach Gary Pinkel says he's been told the Tigers' permanent rival will be Arkansas. Ark. has been w/ South Carolina.

— Jason Lieser (@PBPjasonlieser) May 29, 2012"

It was the logical next step after officials from Texas A&M and South Carolina all but confirmed their marriage in March on Twitter. 

That rivalry doesn't make a ton of sense, but Arkansas and Missouri has all the makings to become one of the SEC's better rivalries. It's a border war between two teams that need rivals in the SEC.

Clearly, LSU is Arkansas' biggest rival now. But that feeling isn't necessarily reciprocated and was bound to be marginalized moving forward. 

Texas A&M will become a big game for the Tigers now that the two are in the same conference. That, coupled with the fact that LSU already has fierce battles with Alabama, Auburn and Florida, has relegated Arkansas to secondary status.

Bottom line: Arkansas needed a team that it could refer to as an unquestioned No. 1 SEC rival, and Missouri is the logical fit.

Will the intensity be ratcheted up overnight?

No. That's something that comes with time. But they are two high-octane offenses that can make for a very interesting Saturday afternoon.

The news that Missouri and Arkansas are engaged is also a clear indication that, however the SEC's football schedule is formatted beyond 2012, it will include permanent cross-division rivalries.

While nothing official has been announced regarding the future of the schedule, The Birmingham News reported on Saturday that the "6-1-1" model will likely be the format moving forward. That means rivalries like Auburn vs. Georgia and Alabama vs. Tennessee are safe—for now.

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