Is the SEC really needed?? I would argue that it is not. I believe that it unfairly punishes some universities, and gives other universities/colleges a pass when it should not. One could really argue that the SEC should be expanded if the SEC was really being true to its original mission.
Its current state is too much of a beauty pageant/fraternity/sorority governance, IMO.

You can hate the SEC (and believe me I do). But the only way to limit their power is to beat them on the gridiron. The last team to do it was Clemson in January 2019, three years ago, the SEC has won five of the eight CFP national championships, and have appeared in nine of the sixteen slots in the eight CFP national championship games (two of the eight were all SEC games). It's not even just Alabama, it's been three different champions the last three seasons. Alabama didn't make the CFP in 2019/20, why didn't the rest of the non SEC win? Michigan didn't even show up vs. Georgia this past year. The day Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, USC, or someone else outside of the SEC wins national championships on a regular basis then the SEC won't "be needed". Until then, Alabama, Georgia, and LSU not only will control the show but get to decide who's in and who's out. If you don't like it... beat 'em.

(04-24-2022 08:11 AM)schmolik Wrote:  You can hate the SEC (and believe me I do). But the only way to limit their power is to beat them on the gridiron. The last team to do it was Clemson in January 2019, three years ago, the SEC has won five of the eight CFP national championships, and have appeared in nine of the sixteen slots in the eight CFP national championship games (two of the eight were all SEC games). It's not even just Alabama, it's been three different champions the last three seasons. Alabama didn't make the CFP in 2019/20, why didn't the rest of the non SEC win? Michigan didn't even show up vs. Georgia this past year. The day Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, USC, or someone else outside of the SEC wins national championships on a regular basis then the SEC won't "be needed". Until then, Alabama, Georgia, and LSU not only will control the show but get to decide who's in and who's out. If you don't like it... beat 'em.

But why do you hate the SEC? Their mission is pretty transparent. Sports first, academics way below except for Vandy and Florida sometimes. But at least they aren't the Big 12.

The SEC's mission is very simple: To be not only the best all-around DI league (football/men's hoops/baseball/women's basketball/all other sports/academics) — but, rather, to be the overwhelmingly best all-around. To dominate to the point where, and for examples, Big Ten football, ACC baseball and Big East men's basketball are essentially inconsequential. The SEC is moving in that direction. JRsec knows it. Read carefully what the man posts.

As a Vanderbilt fan of more than 50 years, I see the movement and am concerned VU might not be a part of that future SEC.

Massive change is coming. And if your school doesn't compete in both football and basketball at the highest levels (whether with resources, results or both) ...

Heh - very clever, OP.

He’s just taking another thread questioning whether the AAU is needed and replacing it with references to the SEC and I totally agree with the point.

There are exclusive organizations in academia, whether it’s the AAU or SEC. The fact that not everyone can get is actually the whole POINT: not everyone can get into the AAU for academic research just as not everyone can get into the SEC is what makes memberships in those associations so valuable. As I said in the other thread, these organizations don’t have “check the box and you’re in” applications for membership and, more importantly, their members don’t want open memnership.

(04-24-2022 03:02 AM)jrj84105 Wrote:  Is the SEC really needed?? I would argue that it is not. I believe that it unfairly punishes some universities, and gives other universities/colleges a pass when it should not.

Is the Ivy League needed? How about the Big East? Is the Pac-12 unfair because it's only teams in the west?

These are private associations of colleges with similar goals, even if Arkansas and Vanderbilt aren't sharing the table at the AAU meeting. It's not unfair the SEC is successful--they earned it.

This thread is brilliant and the appropriate response to several threads.

(04-24-2022 08:58 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Heh - very clever, OP.

He’s just taking another thread questioning whether the AAU is needed and replacing it with references to the SEC and I totally agree with the point.

There are exclusive organizations in academia, whether it’s the AAU or SEC. The fact that not everyone can get is actually the whole POINT: not everyone can get into the AAU for academic research just as not everyone can get into the SEC is what makes memberships in those associations so valuable. As I said in the other thread, these organizations don’t have “check the box and you’re in” applications for membership and, more importantly, their members don’t want open memnership.

I happened to see the AAU thread just before this one, so I got the point immediately.

You make a great point. Northern Arizona University really needs to be in the SEC expecting invite any day now.

(04-24-2022 08:50 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  The SEC's mission is very simple: To be not only the best all-around DI league (football/men's hoops/baseball/women's basketball/all other sports/academics) — but, rather, to be the overwhelmingly best all-around. To dominate to the point where, and for examples, Big Ten football, ACC baseball and Big East men's basketball are essentially inconsequential. The SEC is moving in that direction. JRsec knows it. Read carefully what the man posts.

As a Vanderbilt fan of more than 50 years, I see the movement and am concerned VU might not be a part of that future SEC.

Massive change is coming. And if your school doesn't compete in both football and basketball at the highest levels (whether with resources, results or both) ...

Mizzou’s on that boat too. 2015 really set them back.

(04-24-2022 08:32 AM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  

(04-24-2022 08:11 AM)schmolik Wrote:  You can hate the SEC (and believe me I do). But the only way to limit their power is to beat them on the gridiron. The last team to do it was Clemson in January 2019, three years ago, the SEC has won five of the eight CFP national championships, and have appeared in nine of the sixteen slots in the eight CFP national championship games (two of the eight were all SEC games). It's not even just Alabama, it's been three different champions the last three seasons. Alabama didn't make the CFP in 2019/20, why didn't the rest of the non SEC win? Michigan didn't even show up vs. Georgia this past year. The day Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, USC, or someone else outside of the SEC wins national championships on a regular basis then the SEC won't "be needed". Until then, Alabama, Georgia, and LSU not only will control the show but get to decide who's in and who's out. If you don't like it... beat 'em.

But why do you hate the SEC? Their mission is pretty transparent. Sports first, academics way below except for Vandy and Florida sometimes. But at least they aren't the Big 12.

This is an inaccurate statement. The SEC sees sports and academics as 2 different things. Academics are important and have improved at every member institution. And what many don't realize is that reconstruction constitutions separated disciplines which could be taught by any one state funded school (an anti-insurrection measure following the war). AAU membership is benefitted by an amalgamation of research amid disciplines. Southern privates were not so impinged hence Vanderbilt, Tulane, Emory, Duke, etc have long been AAU. Southern states which quickly abandoned these constitutions have publics which met the standards earlier and are now AAU.

This is one reason the snobbery over the designation is so despised in the South today.

So what you see as indifference is not. Sports are sports and academics are academics and sometimes with academically gifted athletes both are embraced out of serendipity. The SEC doesn't see athletics as an integral part of academia. There is less denial here over the reality that other than in the Ivy League that the two don't mix. We see schools which claim they are integral while making exceptions for star athletes as being hypocritical. They see themselves as high class whores instead of admitting they are just regular old whores like everyone else. And so you know, pretentious whores are hard to abide!

And before you try to make a comeback I covered recruiting violations in a 3 state region of the Deep South and encountered B1G, Big 8, SWC, SEC, ACC, and some Big East schools and all were in violation (save GT, Vandy, and Duke which didn't have coach K back then) and most of the recruits were really academically deficient. One I followed up on had a ringer take his SAT since he couldn't read. So whores I sez!