Well, we've seen the Big 12 come up with some interesting ideas lately.

-Playing basketball in Rucker Park

-Big 12 pro day.

-Potentially adding basketball only members.

-Speculation about dividing their basketball contract from their football.

With these things in mind, or perhaps with the goal that we should look towards non-traditional promotion ideas, what are some things the SEC could do that would be out of the ordinary but likely to be successful?

There are the standard methods of which schools to expand with in order to provide better content. We could incorporate that here, but I'm wondering about different ways we could make SEC competition unique.

Remember, the SEC came up with the major conference championship game for football. There was a time when basketball conferences didn't play postseason conference tournaments. There was a time when conference TV networks were on paper only...etc.

For example, some of the coaches have batted around the idea of playing G5 and FCS schools during Spring games instead of scrimmages. JR has talked about that on the board for years. I personally like the idea although I would go a step further.

1. Jamboree events.

Each SEC school could host a Jamboree football event in the Spring or Summer. Basically you take your squad and play limited snaps against 2 or 3 other squads. You wouldn't play full games against each other, absolutely not. Just an example, let's say Alabama hosted a jamboree. Alabama A&M, Jacksonville State, and MTSU could bring their squads too. Everyone plays a quarter against all the other teams. So no one plays more than 3 quarters, but you're playing live action and you're getting fresh blood in there instead of just playing yourself.

It would also be unique as it's kind of like a preseason tournament and other schools get to test their mettle as well. Fans from other schools show up too so it's a fairly big event and ticket prices can be minimal.

2. Battle of the Bands

Why not get all the marching bands together and have an annual competition? Everyone loves the bands, but they don't really get a time to shine unless you're in the stadium to watch halftime. Why not make them the focus of an event and make it conference specific?

What are your ideas?

In basketball, I hope all 16 teams play all other SEC teams at least one. Maybe that is the plan.

I liked the old days when campuses hosted 4-team invitationals or doubleheaders.

In fb, spring games with nearby lower division opponents would be OK. I like the multiple team structure, but no more than 4 total. We don’t want Alabama pounding one Div.2 school for four quarters. Risk of injuries has to be a consideration. Getting 70-0 scores don’t sound appealing, and the aftermath could have repercussions.

With expansion that can be active somewhere at a given time, scheduling agreements with other conferences would be difficult to create and sustain.

Nine conference games per teams sound good. I like the 3-6-6 model.

Bowl options can always improve.

Promotion of baseball needs to be on-going.

Expand men’s, in particular, and women’s soccer.

I like band competitions. However, the larger campuses with strong music programs/majors have the big advantage. Perhaps the focus needs to be on the entertainment aspect over giving awards.