SEC Success Is NO Mystery

As an avid Alabama and SEC fan, it is always interesting to read the constant stream of commentary, posts, and threads about which is the best Conference in college football. There could not be a wider variety of thoughts, rationales, and reasons projected. From the ACC to the Pac-12, from the Big Ten to the Big 12, and finally the SEC, everyone believes they are heads and shoulders above all others. There are many statistics to support those claims, from won-loss records, head-to-head competition between the teams in each conference, bowl records, and the like.

Through this debate, there seems to be an issue, across the country, with the SEC having a sense of "superiority" when it comes to supremacy in college football. The fact that the SEC has won four straight BCS National Championships and six overall, could signal that the SEC has a right to claim the mythical BEST CONFERENCE IN AMERICA title.

No matter how you slice and dice it, there is one premise that comes to mind when discussing the issue of the SEC being the pre-eminent football conference. How has the SEC been able to reach this level of success? What event or events have contributed to this success? I believe the answer rests in a decision made a few years back that allowed the SEC to become the power they are now.

Eighteen years ago, the SEC took a bold step. The SEC expanded to 12 teams and began holding a Conference Championship game. The SEC was the first conference to make this decision in the "big leagues." It was a big step and that decision was a major factor for the SEC's current success. The Big 12 followed suit, then pulled back, and the status of a Big 12 Conference Championship game is in limbo.

Now the Big Ten has taken the step to expand and will now offer a Conference Championship game in 2011. This decision will move the Big Ten into a position where they will now begin to enjoy the benefits of such a decision.

The SEC was the guinea pig. Looking at the empirical data and results, one could say that the experiment has been a resounding success. It shouldn't take a Rhodes Scholar to see how the expansion and Conference Championship game decision has affected the SEC.

The SEC has enjoyed 18 years of unequaled success in college football. Since the SEC expanded and held a Conference Championship Game in 1991, it has won eight national championships. 

As a result of making this decision, the SEC has created a conference with tremendous stability. Through equitable revenue sharing, each member institution has the ability to continue to grow and develop athletically and academically. A first-rate television contract has given the SEC the ability to remain viable and competitive in the collegiate world. The ability to expand facilities on campus is on the rise in the SEC, the likes of which hasn't been seen in many years.

The SEC enjoys the reputation of having many recruiting advantages, including great year-round weather, great coaches, great fanbases and alumni support, and tremendous exposure on a national level, week in and week out.  

Academic standards are on the rise and many SEC member institutions continue to make strides in improving the quality of the educational experience for its students and student-athletes.

Some may argue that was the case before expansion in 1991, but no one can deny that the decision to expand and hold a Conference Championship game has been a major factor in the success of the SEC and put them on a fast-track course for unparalleled success in many areas.

There are many reasons why the SEC is the total package, but my belief is, the major, overriding factor for the success the SEC is experiencing is a direct result of that decision, almost 20 years ago, when the SEC took that bold step to expand and hold a Conference Championship game.

The Big Ten is moving forward, the experiment has been a total and complete success.  Will the Big Ten and Pac-12 begin the process of challenging the SEC for the coveted spot as PREMIER league in college football? Or will it take a while to "pull it all together"? Will the Big 12's decision not to hold a Conference Championship game put them in "reverse" in terms of viability?

As it is, the SEC is enjoying tremendous success. Is that success really a mystery?  I don't think so. It's as simple as having been visionaries and taking that bold step in 1991 to move into the future as an expanded league with a Conference Championship game.