SEC Expansion, Paul Finebaum, and South Carolina

My Georgia Bulldog buddy saw my piece on Georgia Tech and emailed to say he is pleasantly surprised to see that I have recognized GT fans for what they are.

"I encourage the ACC to boot GT and let it flounder, because it ain't never getting back in the SEC. And the Big Ten wants no part of a school that small unless it is the real Notre Dame," he wrote. "If you don't want Pitt or can't take WVU because of academics, you certainly can have South Carolina back."

(For those who do not know, South Carolina was a charter member of the ACC and left the league in 1971 in as big a childish temper tantrum as GT had when leaving the SEC)

My Dawg friend's kind offer led to a quick exchange of emails about how big a loser the Gamecocks had been in the ACC and how mediocre they have been in the SEC.

He also sent me the link to this Paul Finebaum article: http://blog.al.com/press-register-sports/2010/06/finebaum_arkansas_south_caroli.html

The great controversialist of college sports in the South says that the SEC expansion to 12 has not been a major success because the two schools added, Arkansas and South Carolina, have brought next to nothing to the table. As with almost everything Finebaum belches forth, this article has aroused indignation.

It also has stirred some intriguing thought. 

The only lower level Texas booster with whom I have contact has told me that I am correct that the state of Texas would fit with the ACC states and schools better than it could with the 3 Pacific coast states and their schools. But, he says, Texas is going to all but demand a league that keeps at least 5 of the current Big 12 South schools. And the ACC, he knows, would not add Oklahoma, much less Oklahoma State, even to get Texas and the Texas Aggies.

His numbers got me to thinking about the SEC and Texas. I have no doubt that the SEC would be willing to go to 16 to land Texas and Texas A&M, but because the SEC has 12 members, it could not add 5 Big 12 South schools.

And that coupled with my UGa friend's joke about getting shed of South Carolina led me to wonder if the SEC would make room for 5 Big 12 South schools by cutting ties with South Carolina.

If South Carolina were not in the SEC, the SEC could offer Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. Those 5 plus Arkansas, LSU, and either Ole Miss, Mississippi State, or Vanderbilt would make a great division. And placing Alabama and Auburn in the same division with Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida would be ideal for the SEC.

Here is the funny part of this for me: the SEC took South Carolina because Florida State took the ACC offer over the SEC. To get even with the ACC for that and for taking GT, the SEC decided to ignore WVU, Louisville, and Missouri and instead plant its flag in Columbia, SC - in the capital of an ACC state. That move now could be the one that prevents the SEC from landing Texas and Texas A&M. 

So here is the question, one that the SEC must answer quickly: would the SEC boot South Carolina in order to secure Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma?