After thinking about this change it is 100% consistent with capturing market share at the expense of divisional champions. Keep the highest rated team in front to earn more money, which is the number one KPI for this or most other conferences.
Sure now we do, but prior to 1990 UT wasn't a rival of ours at all and we had hardly played over the years. We had played LSU annually since 1953 except for a 3 year hiatus in the late '60's, but our rivalry with Auburn was much longer and it was thrown out in the early 2000's. In 35 more years we will most likely have new rivals and have lost some old ones, but I won't be around to know who they are.
I actually miss our Auburn rivalry. They had our number for a while there, even when we were good. I was sad to see it go. Only to be replaced with two directional schools instead of one. To each his own, I like at least 3 permanent games. What's the point of pissing contests when you don't know when you'll get to piss on them next?
Yeah, I was sad when our UM rivalry went away even though I wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire.