NCAA Football Realignment Cont'd....

You have seen what I would do with the Big East and ACC the last two days and today I will hit you with the SEC.

The SEC is already the strongest conference in America and with my realignment the conference got stronger. For people on the outside that is a good thing, everyone loves parity b/c that leads to the potential of 2 losses or more from the SEC pwerhouses, so other conferences could potentially benefit come bowl selection. Coaches and fans of SEC schools may be a little upset with the new mix (if they fear competition). I personally am a fan of LSU so while this conference would scare me I would also know that playing in such a strong conference pretty much buys you 2 losses and you can still make the National Title game (assuming you win the SEC Championship). So, here goes:

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Teams that will stay in the SEC: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi St., and Tennessee

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Teams that will move on to another conference: Kentucky (Big East) , South Carolina (ACC) and Arkansas and Vanderbilt

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Teams new to the conference: Florida St. (ACC), Georgia Tech (ACC), Southern Mississippi (Conference USA) and UAB (Conference USA)

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Kentucky was a team that could compete, but just never got over the hump. They year in and year out were in the bottom two of their division. They will be much better off in the Big East where they can compete to win divisions and won't have to travel so far South for games. South Carolina was always competitive and should be near the top of the ACC and will allow them to play in conference each season against their two biggest rivals: Clemson and North Carolina. The loss of Arkansas may hurt the conference but will be better for them overall. Vanderbilt will get a chance to compete in their new conference and possibly win a conference championship.

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FSU, GT, Southern Miss and UAB were all brought in for geographical reasons as well as rivalries. You will see that was the basis for most of my changes along with giving teams the best opportunity to compete for titles and make the conferences as competitive from top to bottom as possible. Florida St was the school furthest from the coast between them and Miami, so the ACC had to lose one of them. Sure, they will be leaving their rivalry with Miami, but now they get to battle the Gators each season with more on the line, a chance to win their division and play for the SEC Championship. This game over the years has seemed to lose its appeal, but this will take the rivalry to a new level. Georgia Tech is going to move from the ACC and like FSU will be playing their biggest rival now in conference. The Yellow Jackets and Georgia Bulldogs will grow to be Bama/Auburn. I also think that the Georgia Tech offense could give some SEC teams nightmares. Any defense that is not willing to stay in their gaps and plays undisciplined will be torched by their option attack. I would love to see it go up against the most athleticially gifted defensive players in the nation (but do they have the mental approach needed) and that is what the SEC provides. Southern Mississippi and UAB are being brought in largely for the same reasons East Carolina was put into the ACC. To me it makes sense to have teams from the same state in the same conference. It may take Southern Miss and UAB a few years of recruiting to build a program that can compete with the best of the SEC, but I think it can be done and their fan base would love to say that their in-state rivals (Mississippi and Miss. St/ Alabama and Auburn) are now conference rivals. Playing in a better conference may be a step back short term but long term more players will go to these schools to play in the SEC vs Conference USA and they will be competitive and bring in more money.

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The divisions are currently split East/West, but I'm making a chance to North/South. Here are my proposed divisions and how they would finish next season:

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North:

Mississippi

Georgia Tech

Georgia

Tennessee

Mississippi St.

Southern Miss

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South:

Florida

LSU

Florida St.

Alabama

Auburn

UAB

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The Rebels and Gators will square off for the SEC Championship and unlike last year when Ole Miss shocked the world (in Gainesville), the Gators are just too good and add another trophy to their case. Back to back years of SEC Championships for Florida.