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The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a college athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I in athletic competitions; for football, it is part of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division I-A), where it is commonly regarded as the strongest conference in the country.[1] The conference is one of the most successful both on the field and financially, averaging more than six national championships per year since 1990 and consistently leading all conferences in revenue distribution to its members including a record $127.2 million for the 2007-2008 fiscal year.[2] The Southeastern Conference was also the first to hold a championship game (and award a subsequent title) for football and was one of the founding members of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). The current commissioner of the Southeastern Conference is Michael Slive.[3] The current president of the Southeastern Conference is Michael F. Adams, current University of Georgia President.
[edit] History
Locations of SEC members within the southeast
The SEC was established in December 1932, when the 13 members of the Southern Conference located west and south of the Appalachian Mountains left to form their own conference.[4][5] Ten of the thirteen charter members have remained in the conference since its inception: the University of Alabama, Auburn University, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Kentucky, Louisiana State University, University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, University of Tennessee, and Vanderbilt University.
The other charter members were:
- Sewanee: Left the SEC in 1940. The school has since deemphasized varsity athletics and is currently a member of the Division III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
- Georgia Tech: Left the SEC in 1964. In 1975, it became a founding member of the Metro Conference, one of the predecessors to today's Conference USA. Georgia Tech competed in the Metro in all sports except football, in which it was independent. In 1978, Georgia Tech joined the Atlantic Coast Conference for all sports, where it has remained.
- Tulane: Left the SEC in 1966. Along with Georgia Tech, it was a charter member of the Metro Conference. Unlike Tech, however, Tulane remained in the Metro until the Metro Conference merged into the new Conference USA in 1995. Tulane remained an independent in football until the formation of Conference USA.
In 1991, the SEC expanded from 10 to 12 members with the addition of:
In 1992, the SEC adopted the divisional setup that exists today. Also in 1992, the SEC was the first conference to receive permission from the NCAA to conduct an annual championship game in football, featuring the winners of the conference's Eastern and Western divisions.[6] It was held at Birmingham's Legion Field the first two years and at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta thereafter.[6]
During the 2007-2008 fiscal year review meeting, there was discussion among SEC leadership about the possibility of starting a TV network dedicated to it's conference, much in the same way the Big Ten Conference has done with the the Big Ten Network. A decision was made to postpone the decision until at least the following year. [7]
[edit] SEC Commissioners
The office of Commissioner was created in 1940[8]
[edit] Current members
The SEC currently has twelve member institutions in nine Southeastern states.[9] The geographic domain of the conference stretches from Arkansas to South Carolina (west to east) and from Kentucky to Florida (north to south). One or both of the flagship universities in each state in the geographic domain of the SEC is a member of the conference, along with one of the preeminent private universities in the nation.
The conference is divided into two geographic divisions: the Eastern Division and the Western Division. The twelve current members of the Southeastern Conference are:
Institution |
Location
(Population) |
Founded |
Affiliation |
Enrollment* |
Year Joined |
Nickname |
Mascot |
Eastern Division |
University of Florida |
Gainesville, Florida
(108,655) |
1853 |
Public |
51,913 |
1932 |
Gators |
Albert and Alberta |
University of Georgia |
Athens, Georgia
(111,580) |
1785 |
Public |
33,831 |
1932 |
Bulldogs |
Uga / Hairy Dawg |
University of Kentucky |
Lexington, Kentucky
(270,789) |
1865 |
Public |
27,209 |
1932 |
Wildcats |
Blue / The Wildcat / Scratch |
University of South Carolina |
Columbia, South Carolina
(119,961) |
1801 |
Public |
27,065 |
1991 |
Gamecocks |
Cocky |
University of Tennessee |
Knoxville, Tennessee
(173,890) |
1794 |
Public |
26,400 |
1932 |
Volunteers, Lady Volunteers |
Smokey |
Vanderbilt University |
Nashville, Tennessee
(607,413) |
1873 |
Private / Non-sectarian |
11,607 |
1932 |
Commodores |
Mr. C |
Western Division |
University of Alabama |
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
(83,052) |
1831 |
Public |
25,580 |
1932 |
Crimson Tide |
Big Al |
University of Arkansas |
Fayetteville, Arkansas
(67,158) |
1871 |
Public |
18,647 |
1991 |
Razorbacks, Ladybacks |
Big Red / Tusk / Boss Hog / Sooie / Pork Chop |
Auburn University |
Auburn, Alabama
(51,906) |
1856 |
Public |
24,137 |
1932 |
Tigers |
Aubie / War Eagle VII |
Louisiana State University |
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(224,097) |
1860 |
Public |
33,587 |
1932 |
Tigers, Lady Tigers |
Mike the Tiger |
University of Mississippi |
Oxford, Mississippi
(14,051) |
1848 |
Public |
17,323 |
1932 |
Rebels |
Colonel Reb |
Mississippi State University |
Starkville, Mississippi
(22,638) |
1878 |
Public |
17,032 |
1932 |
Bulldogs |
Bully the Bulldog |
- * Enrollment figures include both undergraduate and graduate students.
[edit] Sports
The Southeastern Conference sponsors championships in many different sports.
Under SEC conference rules reflecting the large number of (male) scholarship participants in football and attempting to address gender equity concerns (see also Title IX), each member institution is required to provide two more women's varsity sports than men's. The equivalent rule was recently adopted by the NCAA for all of Division I.[10]
While South Carolina and Kentucky field men's soccer teams, the conference does not sponsor the sport; both schools in 2005 joined Conference USA for the sport.[11]
[edit] Conference sports facilities
School |
Football stadium |
Capacity |
Basketball arena |
Capacity |
Baseball stadium |
Capacity |
Eastern Division |
Florida |
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium |
88,548 |
Stephen C. O'Connell Center |
12,000 |
McKethan Stadium |
7,000 |
Georgia |
Sanford Stadium |
92,746 |
Stegeman Coliseum |
11,000 |
Foley Field |
3,291 |
Kentucky |
Commonwealth Stadium |
67,530 |
Rupp Arena (men and women)[1]
Memorial Coliseum (women only) |
23,000
8,500 |
Cliff Hagan Stadium |
3,000 |
South Carolina |
Williams-Brice Stadium |
80,250 |
Colonial Center |
18,000 |
Sarge Frye Field[2] |
6,000 |
Tennessee |
Neyland Stadium |
104,079 |
Thompson-Boling Arena |
24,535 |
Lindsey Nelson Stadium |
4,000 |
Vanderbilt |
Vanderbilt Stadium |
39,790 |
Memorial Gymnasium |
14,168 |
Hawkins Field |
2,027 |
Western Division |
Alabama |
Bryant-Denny Stadium |
92,138 |
Coleman Coliseum |
15,043 |
Sewell-Thomas Stadium |
6,118 |
Arkansas |
Razorback Stadium (primary)
War Memorial Stadium (secondary)[3] |
76,000
53,727 |
Bud Walton Arena |
19,200 |
Baum Stadium |
10,737 |
Auburn |
Jordan-Hare Stadium |
87,451 |
Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum[4] |
10,500 |
Plainsman Park |
4,096 |
LSU |
Tiger Stadium |
92,910 |
Pete Maravich Assembly Center |
14,164 |
Alex Box Stadium[5] |
7,760 |
Ole Miss |
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium |
60,850 |
Tad Smith Coliseum |
8,700 |
Swayze Field |
3,500 |
Mississippi State |
Davis Wade Stadium (Scott Field) |
55,082 |
Humphrey Coliseum |
10,500 |
Dudy Noble Field |
7,200 (15,500)[6] |
- ^ One men's home game per year played at Freedom Hall in Louisville.
- ^ New stadium scheduled to open for 2009 season.
- ^ Two games played each year at Little Rock, one non-conference game and one SEC game.
- ^ New arena scheduled to open for 2010-11 season.
- ^ New Alex Box Stadium scheduled to open for 2009 season.
- ^ Though Mississippi State's Dudy Noble Field official seating capacity is 7,200, its total capacity is 15,500, which includes privately owned seating in Left Field Lounge. Mississippi State holds the all-time NCAA on-campus record for one day attendance at 14,991.[12]
[edit] Football
Before expansion, each SEC school played 6 conference games. Five of these games were against permanent opponents, developing some traditional rivalries between schools, and the 6th game rotated around the other 4 members of the conference.
From 1992 through 2001, each team had two permanent inter-divisional opponents, allowing many traditional rivalries from the pre-expansion era (such as Florida vs. Auburn, Kentucky vs. LSU and Vanderbilt vs. Alabama) to continue. However, complaints from some league athletic directors about imbalance in the schedule (for instance, Auburn's two permanent opponents from the East were Florida and Georgia – two of the SEC's stronger football programs at the time – while Mississippi State played relatively weaker Kentucky and South Carolina every year) led to the SEC reducing the permanent opponents to only one per team.
Under the current format, each school plays a total of eight conference games, consisting of the other five teams in its division, two schools from the other division on a rotating basis, and one school from the other division that it plays each year. All permanent inter-divisional games, with the exception of Arkansas vs. South Carolina, were played annually before SEC expansion in 1992.[13] The following table shows the permanent opponent for each school listed by total number of games played (records through 2007 with western wins listed first)[14]:
Other league athletic directors have advocated discarding the current format and adopting the one used by the Big 12 Conference, where teams play three teams from the opposite division on a home-and-home basis for two seasons, and then switch and play the other three teams from the opposite side for a two-year home-and-home. However, the potential loss of such heated (and profitable, as the games are often shown on national TV) long-standing rivalries as LSU-Florida, Alabama-Tennessee, and Auburn-Georgia have scuttled such plans on the drawing board. The loss of the annual rivalry between Nebraska and Oklahoma has led some Big 12 athletic directors to make a push to adopt the SEC format for the Big 12.
Interestingly, before the institution of divisional play, many of Auburn's yearly rivalries were with teams in the East (Florida, Georgia and Tennessee), while Tennessee's yearly rivalries were with teams in the West (Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss).
[edit] Championship Game
-
The SEC Championship Game is held by the Southeastern Conference each year. The championship game pits the Southeastern East Division champion against the West Division champion in a game held after the regular season has been completed. The first championship game was during the 1992 season. The first two SEC Championship football games were held at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Since 1994, the game has been played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia.
[edit] Bowl tie-ins
The post-season bowl game tie-ins for the SEC for the 2007 season were:
- Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, LA (vs. BCS) – has hosted all SEC teams but Mississippi State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt
- Capital One Bowl in Orlando, FL (vs. Big Ten)
- Outback Bowl in Tampa, FL (vs. Big Ten)
- Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX (vs. Big 12)
- Chick-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, GA (vs. ACC)
- Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN (vs. Conference USA)
- Music City Bowl in Nashville, TN (vs. ACC)
- Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA (vs. Big 12)
The Outback, Cotton, and Chick-Fil-A Bowls each pick in the same tier and base their selections on regional differences. For example, the Cotton Bowl has preference on teams from the Western Division while the Outback Bowl has preference over teams in the Eastern Division.
Under SEC guidelines, the Capital One Bowl must pick the SEC Championship game loser if that team has won two or more games than the next team in the selection order. The SEC Championship game loser has not played in the Capital One Bowl since Tennessee following the 2001 season.
It was announced on April 30, 2008, that the SEC will replace Conference USA in the Papajohns.com bowl in Birmingham, AL. The SEC representative will play a team from the Big East.[15] The Papajohns.com bowl will receive the lowest bowl eligible team from the SEC, giving the conference 9 bowl teams if that many are eligible.
[edit] Rivalries
The SEC members have long histories. Some of the football rivalries involving SEC teams include:
^ Following the 2007 season.[16]
^ Trophy first awarded in 1996.
^ Series was annual rivalry when Arkansas and Texas were both in the Southwest Conference. Teams have played only twice in regular season since Arkansas joined the SEC. Will play again in 2008 & 2014.
^ Series was annual rivalry when Arkansas and Texas A&M were both in the Southwest Conference. Teams will begin playing annually in the Dallas Cowboys New Stadium again in 2009.
^ The series doesn't have a nickname, but due to the close margin most years, some individual games do. Not an annual rivalry until Auburn and LSU were placed in SEC West division in 1992.
^ Series has only been played twice in regular season since 1987.
^ Played in Jacksonville. Now officially referred to as the "Florida-Georgia/Georgia-Florida Game" due to sensitivity about consumption of alcohol by college students.
^ For decades the trophy of this game was a red, white, and blue bourbon barrel, but this practice was discontinued in 1999 following a DUI accident that killed two Kentucky football players.
^ Whereabouts of the original rag are unknown; a new rag was presented to LSU after victories in 2001 and 2006. Series was only contested twice from 1995 through 2005, but a 10-year contract began in 2006.
^ Since joining the SEC this game has been played on or around Halloween every year, accordingly many students dress in costume for this game. The contrasting team colors are also typical Halloween colors.
^ For 74 years the trophy of this game was the Beer Barrel: an orange, white, and blue beer keg. However, this practice was discontinued in 1999 following the aforementioned DUI accident.
[edit] Player Awards
Each year, the conference selects various Players of the Year – Offensive, Defensive, Special Teams, Freshman. In 1994, the conference began honoring former players from each school annually with the SEC Football Legends program.
[edit] 50th anniversary All-Time SEC Team
In 1982, the SEC Skywriters, a group of media covering the Southeastern Conference, selected members of their All-Time SEC Team for the first 50 years (1933-82) of the SEC.
Coach: Paul Bear Bryant Offense
QB Archie Manning, Ole Miss 1968-70
HB Charley Trippi, Georgia 1942,45-46
HB Billy Cannon, LSU 1957-59
HB Herschel Walker, Georgia 1980-82
WR Don Hutson, Alabama 1932-34
WR Terry Beasley, Auburn 1969-71
TE Ozzie Newsome, Alabama 1974-77
OL John Hannah, Alabama 1970-72
OL Bruiser Kinard, Ole Miss 1935-37
OC Dwight Stephenson, Alabama 1977-79
OL Bob Suffridge, Tennessee 1938-40
OL Billy Neighbors, Alabama 1959-61
PK Fuad Reveiz, Tennessee 1981-84
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Defense
DL Doug Atkins, Tennessee 1950-52
DL Bill Stanfill, Georgia 1966-68
DL Jack Youngblood, Florida 1968-70
DL Lou Michaels, Kentucky 1955-57
DL Gaynell Tinsley, LSU 1934-36
LB Lee Roy Jordan, Alabama 1960-62
LB Jack Reynolds, Tennessee 1967-69
LB D. D. Lewis, Miss. State 1965-67
DB Tucker Frederickson, Auburn 1962-64
DB Jake Scott, Georgia 1967-68
DB Tommy Casanova, LSU 1969-71
DB Don McNeal, Alabama 1977-79
DB Jimmy Patton, Ole Miss 1953-55
P Craig Colquitt, Tennessee 1958-60
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[edit] Men's basketball
Teams play a 16-game conference schedule, facing each team from its own division twice and each team from the opposite division once. Before expansion, teams played a double round-robin, leading to an exhausting 18-game conference schedule. Not surprisingly, no team ever ran the table when the conference schedule featured 18 games; three teams went 17-1 (Kentucky in 1970 and 1986, LSU in 1981). Since the league slate was trimmed to 16 games, Kentucky has gone undefeated in SEC play in 1996 and 2003.
[edit] Basketball tournament
-
The SEC Men's Basketball Tournament (sometimes known simply as the SEC Tournament) is the conference championship tournament in basketball for the Southeastern Conference. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The tournament is most often held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, though sometimes takes place at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana or Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
[edit] Rivalries
Several men's basketball rivalries have developed in the SEC:
- The dominance of these two teams in the '90s over everyone else in the SEC led to quite a rivalry, mostly by default, being the best two teams in the conference. The rivalry cooled in the following years as the Razorbacks have slipped toward the middle of the pack in the SEC West. With the recent success of new Razorback head coach and former Kentucky player, John Pelphrey, the series has once again risen in prominence.
- This conference matchup has become a major rivalry in recent years with the rise of the Florida basketball program under Billy Donovan (a former Kentucky assistant). Kentucky holds an 84-30 advantage in the series.
- A "border war" between two of the sport's historic giants. This rivalry is traditionally played at neutral sites, the RCA Dome (Lucas Oil Stadium beginning in 2009) in Indianapolis and Freedom Hall in Louisville, rather than in Bloomington and Lexington. The all-time record in this rivalry is 28-22 in Kentucky's favor.
- This rivalry, nicknamed the Battle for Bluegrass, is unlike most that involve SEC schools in that it is relatively recent. For nearly 60 years, UK refused to schedule UofL in the regular season in either basketball or football. After a UofL victory over UK in the Mideast Regional final in the 1983 NCAA basketball tournament, pressure mounted on UK to schedule UofL; Cardinals supporters went so far as to propose a law mandating that the two schools schedule one another. The bill was never introduced, as a basketball series began in the 1983-84 season. The rivalry added a new edge in 2001 when the Cardinals hired former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino (although he was not hired directly from UK). Former UK head coach Tubby Smith is a former UK assistant under Pitino, and reportedly recommended Pitino to Louisville. The Wildcats hold a 26-12 lead in the all-time series.
- This rivalry is also a "border war.", and the schools are located just three hours apart on Interstate 75. The two teams have played over 200 times in their history. When the two teams play at Knoxville, Thompson-Boling Arena is almost always sold out. Kentucky leads the rivalry 139-64.
- Not only are these two schools the closest to one another geographically within the SEC – a mere 95 miles separate them – but their respective head coaches, Mark Gottfried and Rick Stansbury, often battle each other for the same recruits.
- The in-state rivalry between these two teams in men's basketball dates back to the early 1900s. The two teams have played against each other more than 230 times in the SEC's most-played rivalry. Mississippi State leads 133-103 in 236 all time games.
- What had been a recent football rivalry has become a basketball rivalry as well, as the Volunteers under Bruce Pearl (and even previously under Buzz Peterson) have had recent success against Florida.
[edit] Awards
The SEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year is awarded to the player who has proven himself, throughout the season, to be the most exceptional talent in the Southeastern Conference. Various other awards, such as the best tournament player in the SEC Tournament and all conference honors are given out throughout the year.
[edit] Other Sports
Besides football and men's basketball, there are a number of other sports in which the Southeastern conference actively competes.
[edit] Rivalries
- The Lady Vols have historically been the nation's dominant program in that sport. Starting in the mid-1990s, UConn has emerged as Tennessee's main rival for national prominence. The Huskies won four national titles between 2000 and 2004; in three of those years, their victim in the NCAA final was Tennessee. Connecticut also defeated Tennessee in the 1995 Championship game, the Huskies' first-ever title. For more information, see UConn-Tennessee rivalry.
- These two storied programs have often butted heads for not only SEC titles, but NCAA titles, as well. Georgia has won nine national championships to Alabama's four.
- Historically these schools are arch-rivals, but following Tulane's decades long deemphasis of sports, this is the only sport in which the two schools are evenly matched. On several occasions matchups between the two have drawn national record-setting attendances. Tulane reached its first College World Series in 2001 by defeating LSU in three games in the super regional at Zephyr Field.
- Before the arrival of Skip Bertman as LSU's baseball coach in 1984, Mississippi State had long dominated the conference in baseball, with most of that success coming under legendary coach Ron Polk (who returned to coach the Bulldogs in 2002 after retiring following the 1997 season), who coached future MLB stars such as Rafael Palmeiro, Will Clark and Jeff Brantley. But when Bertman arrived in Baton Rouge, LSU's long-dormant program took off, winning 11 SEC championships and five College World Series championships in 18 seasons from 1984 through 2001. This success in Omaha has been a constant source of irritation to the State faithful, who still are waiting for their first national championship trophy in Starkville.
- One of the youngest rivalries featuring an SEC team, the Tigers and Texas Longhorns are the two most successful swimming and diving programs in the country. The two have combined for 16 National Titles since 1981 (9 for Texas, 7 for Auburn) and between 1999 and 2007 won every national title. The two regularly face off in a meet during the regular season, Auburn owns an 11-8 record over the Longhorns. Texas was the only team to beat Auburn between 2001 and 2008.
[edit] National Championships
-
Since its founding in 1932, and the first full academic year of competition in 1933, SEC members have won a total of 161 team national championships.[17]
[edit] Conference Champions
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The Southeastern Conference sponsors eight men's sports and ten women's sports, and awards a conference championship in every one of them.
[edit] Southeastern Conference Schools Ranked by Endowment[18]
- Vanderbilt University- $3.5 billion
- University of Florida- $996 million
- University of Kentucky- $958 million
- University of Arkansas- $877 million
- University of Alabama- $849 million
- University of Tennessee- $811 million
- University of Georgia- $619 million
- Louisiana State University – $593 million
- University of Mississippi- $495 million
- University of South Carolina- $439 million
- Auburn University- $360 million
- Mississippi State University- $287 million
An SEC school, University of Mississippi, has been chosen to host the first United States Presidential Election debate of 2008, to be held September 26, 2008. This is also the first ever presidential debate to be held at an SEC school.[19]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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