Not really, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Ole Miss, Mississippi State. Those guys had stayed as the lower tier at the SEC the entire time they have been here and I don’t see them ever changing that just because they are in the SEC. We need teams that win SEC championships and national championships to be the best conference. We don’t need punching bags. Clemson and FSU have pretty much proven to be top 20 programs in the entire nation. It’s really just a simple as that, you either can win championships or you can’t.
Good points but I would argue that UNC and UVA sit in the middle of a much better recruiting area than Vanderbilt, Missouri and the Mississippi's. I think if they were in the SEC, it wouldn't take them long to ride over those schools.
While in principle I agree with your take, Mississippi isn’t exactly a recruiting wasteland. Per capita it’s actually one of the most fertile recruiting areas in the country.
Riding over those schools doesn’t mean much. You either win the sec or you don’t. Being a second tier team in the best conference and cashing a big check is nice for them I guess. The only thing that helps the conference is championships and which teams espn kits on at noon , three, and seven. We don’t need teams to fill out the sec channel games like when we play Vandy. Texas and Oklahoma can be the top draw at any given time, north Carolina , it’s never happened once in the history of ever.
ESPN and other TV providers look for expanding market and reach into other key markets. A presence in NC and Virginia would be helpful in that regard. The Big Ten is now in large California market, Washington and Oregon and previously took Rutgers for NJ, Maryland and Penn State. That makes their TV contract more valuable They may choose Miami or FSU did that same reason to get into Florida for TV purposes.
I think the concept of geographical TV markets are generally outdated. It doesn't matter how big the market is if very few eyeballs in that market are on the team you are pursuing. California might still have a pretty good HS programs and talent, but a lot of its going elsewhere and at least when I've been out there, the college football following has been "meh" at best.
If we could just let them play basketball, it would be great. There are many basketballball schools that are legit. It’s profitable but not even close to football.
Umm, since they've joined the conference, Mizzou has been in 2 SEC CGs. We've only been in 3. Tennessee has been in zero. So Mizzou has been better than Vandy, though obviously they are not a power. We are better than them- but not by that much.
We have been bad to average for the last decade plus. Missouri wasn’t very good when they were their best either. We will be back at some point but the chances of Missouri winning a championship are slim to none.
Great info. My personal experience is that UCF has always had a good computer science program. The engineering part of what I guess is now called "Engineering and Computer Science" there might just be piggy-backing on the long-time Computer Science reputation, though. I graduated from UF as an EE, but, I did take post-baccalaureate Computer Science classes at UCF, as well. As far as FSU, I also had an experience at work that might be relevant to this discussion. My office-mate graduated from FSU Engineering school. As part of our career development ladder at work, we were all required to take the old eight-hour Engineer in Training (EIT) state board exam (the precursor to the Professional Engineer exam). The two young UCF grads in my office took the exam and neither passed it. I was fortunate enough to pass the exam on the first attempt, so I felt prepared for it with my UF education. But, the fsu guy was not even allowed to take the exam because "FSU's Engineering School wasn't properly-accredited." This was back in the early 1990's, so I'm not sure what, if anything, has changed, but, it does seem that an fsu engineering degree today is really a FAMU engineering degree, from what I've heard. As far as student stress levels while taking classes at fsu vs. UF, I would argue that it should be stressful. You're supposed to be preparing yourself for life and career. The college experience part is way down on the priority list when it comes to school selection, in my opinion. I have known many UF students that took part in much of the fun stuff at UF to the fullest extent. Several that I know stayed in Gainesville and kept having that fun (long after they washed out of UF). I would agree that many of my engineering professors at UF were more focused on their research than getting a student through their class successfully. But, when I look back on my career and how it related to my time in school, I realize that what I learned in my most-difficult, most pressure-packed classes actually helped me the most during my career. Just my personal angle.
I think the SEC has no reason to expand right now. The SEC is the last power conference that maintains some sort of geographical sense. And has 90% of the top programs in the southeast region. Why mess with a formula that clearly working? I think ESPN and FOX were working behind the scenes to create a B1G/SEC NFL type AFC/NFC model. There were rumors, that in my opinion were credible from both Oregon and ASU sources that the SEC might be interested. I think these were spread by ESPN sources trying to create the NFL model. Sankey and the SEC didn't bite. And now that the top 4 west coast programs are all in the B1G, there's no reason for the SEC to expand west. Utah is a solid program, but not worth $50 million. Arizona has a great basketball tradition, and basketball is profitable. But college football brings in $.75 or more of every $1.00 a college sports program makes. I think by adding the 4-PAC corner schools, the BIG12 has secured a future. A 2nd rate conference in football, but with enough firepower to stay in any playoff discussion, especially given the basketball prowess. If the SEC and B1G discuss breaking off and leaving the BIG12 out of college football playoffs, the BIG12 could discuss not participating in March Madness. It's a MAD type situation where all conferences will realize the gains aren't worth the losses in my opinion. If ACC schools do somehow mange to break their GOR, the SEC should consider adding the top brands the ACC has. Clemson being the top target, along with UNC, FSU and Miami. Anyone else isn't worth it. The SEC could then recruit by saying not only is the SEC a top-notched conference, travel isn't all over the country. No playing in New Jersey one week and L.A. the next week. Or Orlando and Tucson.
I think the question is more about who offers them. Given the choice, UVA and their fans may prefer or feel more like they fit better in the Big-10, but if the SEC were to offer say UNC and UVA, do you think either of those schools would say no? This is about money, not culture.
I agree. Other than Notre Dame, which is a longshot, the only other realistic SEC candidates are all in the ACC. The only way I see the SEC expanding are if Notre Dame comes to them or something happens in the ACC where they can take who they want.
With a 12 team playoff coming in the 2024 season you'd think FSU would want to keep the easy route to the playoffs and stay in the ACC. By the way the "chatter" out there is that the UNC brass would be MORE interested to joining the SEC than the BIG conference. I wonder how UVA feels about that possible choice.
