The SEC...They Even Get Re-Alignment Right

SEC Wins Again…And it’s Not Just Football

Written by Caleb Hartley

Domination.  Desperation.  Disintegration.

Southeastern Conference.  Big XII.  Big East.

In this dizzying world of college conference re-alignment, one thing remains constant—the SEC does things the right way.  As mega-conferences are in the works—and geography is easily trumpeted by the almighty dollar—the SEC only gets stronger. 

In mid-September, when Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced that they were leaving the Big East to join the ACC, panic spread like wildfire throughout the college sports landscape. 

In the past year and a half, Nebraska & Colorado left the Big 12 to join the Big 10 and the aptly named Pac-12, respectively.  The Big 12 isn’t even the tip of the iceberg because there is the Big East which has teams running from it like Usain Bolt in Beijing. 

So what does the SEC do?  Nothing.  They let teams come to them.  Texas A&M announced it would be joining the SEC in September and Missouri is on the verge of making the conference a 14-team league.

How does the Big 12 fill those voids left by Texas A&M and Missouri?  Reportedly by inviting both TCU and West Virginia to join the once powerhouse conference.  Both are great programs but they pale in comparison to what the SEC was able to accomplish.  It’s as simple as tradition….

SEC Newcomers	Big 12 Newcomers
Texas A&M – 674 Wins	West Virginia – 696 Wins
Missouri – 622 Wins	TCU – 581 Wins
Total = 1,296	Total = 1,277

At first glance, this doesn’t seem like enough of a discrepancy to matter.  But when you consider Texas A&M and Missouri have played the likes of Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska year in and year out, while West Virginia and TCU hammered away against much weaker foes like South Florida, Connecticut, UNLV, and New Mexico, those numbers are skewed. 

There is no point in bringing the Big East into this fight because in the imminent future, the Big East will most likely have the same number of teams. That will read like the scorecard for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Yankee Stadium after Game 5 of the 1956 World Series—yes, Don Larsen enters a collegiate argument.

The first thing that comes to mind when the college conference re-alignment topic comes up is football.  Basketball is getting overlooked, and undeservedly so.  It shows just how brilliant of a move it will be if the SEC is able to bring in both Texas A&M and Missouri.  The proof is in the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll, if Texas A&M and Missouri are considered part of the SEC:

#2 – Kentucky	#17 – Alabama
#7 – Vanderbilt	#19  - Texas A&M**
#10 – Florida	#25 – Missouri**

Only the Big East can match that many teams in the Top 25 and they have 16 teams—two more than the proposed SEC.

The word “whirlwind” has been thrown around when discussing this issue, but there is only one that all other conferences can learn from, and it reads like a kindergarten activity book.

The SEC adds two and loses none.  Math wasn't my subject, but I think that is a good thing.  Much better than trying to rip Boise State apart between coasts—the Big East in football and the Mountain West in most other sports.

This of course is all just speculation, but with the skyrocketing profits schools now see from renegotiated television deals, who knows what the landscape of college sports, will look like in five years. 

Louisiana State University Chancellor Michael Martin put it best when he said, ‎"I think we could ultimately end up with two conferences—one called ESPN and one called FOX.”

In comparison with other conferences the SEC comes out the winner.  But in the grand scheme of things there is no winner and only one loser—the fan.