There are several scheduling concerns that the SEC must address moving forward. Chief among them is whether to continue with an eight-game conference schedule or move to a nine-game slate.
Currently, the SEC plays an 8-game conference schedule and will do so for the 2012 season with 14 teams. Each team will play six divisional games, one permanent cross-division opponent and one rotating cross-division team.
The current format (6-1-1) allows for old rivalries to continue, such as Auburn-Georgia and Alabama-Tennessee. But this model also means it would take 12 years for each team to play every team from the opposite division, compared to only five years under the old 5-1-2.
If the SEC decides to move to a nine-game schedule, they could go with a 6-1-2 format. That would allow the protected rivalries to continue and each team would play every other team home-and-home in six years.
Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity said that “our top priority in the whole scheduling discussion is maintaining the rivalry with Auburn.” And Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley said that conference realignment is “tampering with something that has made college football so special.”
What about the other SEC cross-division games? The consensus appears to be that those match-ups – Florida-LSU, Arkansas-South Carolina, Vanderbilt-Ole Miss, Kentucky-Mississippi State and Missouri-Texas A&M – don’t have as much tradition as the others and are expendable.
As Mr. SEC points out, a nine-game conference schedule makes sense for several reasons. An additional SEC game is more attractive for ticket buyers and television partners and old rivalries such as Auburn-Georgia could be saved.
But there are a few reasons some SEC schools won’t be in support of the change. Losing a home game every other year could hurt the bottom line, unless TV revenue makes up for it. And an extra SEC game over a non-conference game could be the difference in bowl eligibility.
More than likely, the SEC will eventually move to a nine-game conference schedule. How that happens and what format it will take is anyone’s guess.
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that what happens when a conference gets too big........Big East and A-10 basketball schedules are a joke. 12 teams in any conf. for any sport is plenty.
WHAT WOULD CURE THIS PROBLEM IS TO MOVE ALABAMA & AUBURN TO THE EAST
AND MISSOURI & VANDERBILT TO THE WEST. THAT WOULD KEEP THE TRADITIONAL
RIVALS & HELP MISSOURI WITH THE TRAVEL PROBLEMS OF BEIING IN THE EAST.
that's a good thought.......
i love it
What about this?
East - Tenn, Vandy, Kentucky, Bama, Florida, Miss State, Auburn
West - Mizzo, South Carolina, LSU, Georgia, Arkansas, Ole Miss, A&M
keeps rivalries intact mainly, pretty balanced for football, maybe not so much basketball.
IT ALSO SEPERATES ALABAMA & LSU. THEY CAN STAY AT 8 GAMES AND JUST DO
THE 6-2 FORMAT. EVERYBODY IS HAPPY.
Auburn offered to move to the East but Alabama didn't like it so that is why Mizzou is in the east in the 1st place
They should realign to new divisions...
SEC DEEP SOUTH: Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina
SEC NON-DEEP SOUTH: Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
(or)
SEC NORTH: Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
SEC SOUTH: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, Texas A&M
(or)
SEC A-L: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU
SEC M-Z: Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
MZ is toooooooooo easy!
THAT ALPHABET THING WON'T WORK. ALL THE SUPER POWERS ARE IN THE SAME DIVISIONS !!
I like sec north and south.
Just move Kentucky and Missouri to the West and Alambama and Auburn to the East. All old rivalries would be preserved and until Florida and Tennessee are back on their feet this would strengthen football in the East and Basketball in the West balancing the league. Alabama would not have to face LSU until the championship game which would be better for both, Arkansas would have room to solidify as a football power, and the Mississippi schools would get a break. It would provide nearer competition for Mizzou fans and give them their greatest two future rivals in basketball twice a year (Kentucky, and Arkansas) while leaving them a recruiting footprint in Texas when they play A&M. We still play just 8 conference games and everybody wins.
I AGREE WITH YOUR BASKETBALL THOUGHTS, BUT FOOTBALL IS DRIVING THIS BUS MORE THAN EVER.
Both UK and Vandy want to play Tennessee annually, so no, not all rivalries would be preserved.
However, if it's a case of sacrificing Vandy/Tenn or UK/Tenn instead of 'Bama/Tenn & UGa/Auburn, I think it's a pretty clear choice.
KENTUCKY IS TOO FAR EAST TO GO TO THE WEST. VANDY WOULD BE THE BETTER CHOICE. DOES ANYONE THINK THERE WILL BE SOME RE-ALIGNMENT TO MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY ?
i'd love to see re-alignment (ALA/AUB to east, MIZZ/VAN to west) but remember: all of this is money driven..... if it makes common sense, they wont do it.....however if it makes financial sense to all these accounting gurus and number crunchers, they will do it in a heartbeat!!!! case in point: moving a&m and mizz to the conference in the first place, that was all about $$$$$
I fixed the comment for you.
Why does it take 12 years to play every team in the other division?
If you play 1 of them every year, wouldn't that leave six teams in the other division to rotate through in the 6-1-1 schedule?
It must mean that it takes 12 years to play every other team home-and-home, or did I miss something?
YOU ARE CORRECT !! IT WILL TAKE 12 YEARS TO GO HOME & HOME. BUT IT WILL BE BETTER FOR TV GAMES AT A CLOSER RATE.
I think this whole add Mizzou, Texas A&M mess has hurt the SEC! They were not a big commodity. I don't see the advantage of having them in the SEC considering neither one of them is in the SOUTH! I do not want to frustrate or offend any fans of theirs, but it just don't to me (as a long time SEC fan, GBO) make sense to have moved them to the SEC. I'm not saying they won't be able to build and compete in the SEC but it just wasn't relevant for them to be relocated.. and to think it even has a chance of hindering our traditional rivalries just baffles and angers me, because SEC fans are a very strong, very important fan base that should not be toyed with and they enjoy their rivalries! not to mention that the teams of the SEC (excluding South Carolina) have been a part of the SEC for a long time and deserve to have their rivalries... even if that means Texas A&M and Mizzou loosing out on playing a fair SEC schedule and a non conference schedule because it is a right of passage. It's kind of like me working a job and some new guy coming in and taking my job to bump me down the ladder. It's insane!!!!!