Sports

The SEC is still better


Georgia demonstrated the SEC's superiority over the Big Ten with a win over Michigan.

Georgia demonstrated the SEC’s superiority over the Big Ten with a win over Michigan.
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There is a confident nature within the Southeast Conference fanbase and what their consortium stands for. Having covered the tournament as a hometown beat writer for one of the odd geographical teams in the league, Mizzou, and thus traveled to many other cities across the country, where the representative school one of the top leagues In the US, you quickly understand the SEC mantra of “We are better than you!” And you have to queue.

Even questioning the SEC’s place on the mountaintop of college athletics is a sacrifice for some. Last month’s World University round was contested between Ole Miss and Arkansas, both from the SEC West. In a few years, only Stanford and Notre Dame will not represent the league among the eight teams in 2022 heading to Omaha. Heck, the Fighting Irish had to pester the #1 seed Tennessee in the Super Regionals to avoid turning it into Cardinal versus Greg Sankey’s seven future diamond minions.

Make no mistake, what drives the future of college athletics is one sport, football. And pretend like any other sport moving needles, even basketball, is stupid. Even basketball with the all-powerful March Madness couldn’t do it. CBS owns the rights to the men’s 68-team tournament, which televised the women’s showcase. FOX, along with the “world leader in sports” (total), controls college football’s Power Five Non-Church Conference television rights. CBS gets its Game of the Week from the SEC, which is a huge takeaway that will disappear after the 2023 season.

That’s one reason why Thursday’s news about USC and UCLA depart The Pac-12 conference for the Big Ten changed the game. The 2020 conference reorganization was kicked off with Texas and Oklahoma going from the Big 12 to the SEC, reinforcing its branding with two additional additions. Everything about bringing the Sooners and Longhorns into play is meant to dominate. You add the competition of the Red River, expand the footprint of the convention, add schools that will spend money on athletics until they go bust and revive a few older competitors. Mizzou, Texas A&M and Arkansas will benefit the most from that final installment.

Even with as many as 16 teams, the SEC still easily notices the part of the country that is carved. The Big Ten burst its own territory bubble during a double flood in Los Angeles. Parts of the Great Lakes, Midwest and East Coast are great. Come to Hollywood? That out-of-the-ordinary wisdom may have no field impact on the SEC’s move. In terms of reaction from the rest of the college athletics universe, the move is even bigger than buying Texas-Oklahoma. Everyone who isn’t in the Big Ten or the SEC is now an endangered species, or akin to it, save Notre Dame now.

Because gridiron rules all, 12 of the last 16 national championships have been won by SEC teams. The three exceptions were in the ACC (two being Clemson) and that nasty Ohio State championship to kick off the College Football Playoff era. Don’t you think it bothers the Big Ten country to see the class of the conference in 2021, Michigan, beaten by Georgia in the CFP semifinals? Improvements need to be made quickly so as not to repeat the trend. That’s why conventional wisdom skipped the window when it heard UCLA and USC wanted to join the team, bringing the total number of full-time members of both top leagues to 16.

If the SEC’s successful reproduction of the gridiron isn’t enough evidence to engage their constructive thinking, let’s see where the money in college athletics goes. The next TV deal for the Big Ten is now guaranteed to be a number with three commas in it. In December 2020, the SEC entered into a settlement with ABC that is valid $300 million per year for a decade. That’s 3 billion dollars. The Big Ten would be silly to ask FOX in the next round of negotiations for anything less. The ACC, the Big 12 and now the Pac-12 don’t have that bargaining power unless they all come together. Call it an “alliance”. That worked before.

If the SEC wants to be one step ahead and clearly the dominant congress of college sports, the move is simple: start poaching the ACC. Clemson, Florida State, Louisville and Georgia Tech. They all have an opponent in the wild already in the tournament. It’s all in the SEC’s footprint. It all brings something tangible to the table. The Clemson and State of Florida brands are obvious. Having more solid roots in Atlanta would be ideal. Louisville is a strong, unique brand. Miami just doesn’t keep the slick look it used to.

The only element I can see to negate football-only staffing decisions would be adding a blueblood basketball program, which comes with natural competition. Duke and North Carolina would be ideal, possibly with NC State also on the team. And to get the team to an even number, call Kansas. You get another blueblood, and Border Wars with Mizzou has crossover stakes for the first time in over a decade.

Sankey is a smart businessman. I have met him a few times. His adjustment is among the best in college sports. This is a big test for him. The SEC’s mantra about being the best is going into uncharted territory, like all college athletics. It’s acting or being taken advantage of after Thursday’s quake in college football. The only difference is that now, the SEC has no single blood in the battle.



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