SEC football schedule questions after Texas, Oklahoma adds

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Pods or divisions?

Two everlasting opponents or three?

Eight video games or 9?

Texas and Oklahoma’s impending entrance into the SEC leaves the league in a scheduling pickle, with many extra questions than solutions.

Whereas convention executives have certainly studied the choices (extra on that later), there was little critical discussions amongst directors on the subject. It’s a sensitive challenge, one that can possible spark vigorous debate and possibly even divide amongst coaches, athletic administrators and college presidents.

In any case, the extra you develop an empire, the extra divided it turns into. The convention’s new footprint will cowl 12 states and 16 faculties. Whereas the brand new SEC is the richest and strongest within the historical past of school athletics, additionally it is some of the various—a broad stretch of turf that options faculties with differing monetary conditions, cultural views and ranging pursuits.

Like a microcosm of the NCAA itself, the SEC has haves and havenots, each in historic athletic success and athletic price range. Take as an illustration Mississippi State and new member Texas. The Longhorns’ athletic income in 2019—$223 million—was almost double that of the Bulldogs.

In some ways, the haves and havenots are on the middle of a long-running, considerably divisive subject inside the league for years: scheduling. Within the convention’s present format, groups play eight video games: six annually from inside their very own division and two opponents from the alternative division, one on a everlasting foundation and one rotating—a 6-1-1 mannequin that has lengthy been the goal of criticism each in and outdoors the league.

For a lot of, the everlasting, cross-divisional matchup is the actual drawback. Whereas it preserves long-standing rivalries, it creates imbalance in scheduling and prevents groups from frequently taking part in their SEC brethren, with as many as seven years between matchups of some groups.

Over time, as scheduling laws has arisen contained in the convention, voting blocs emerged making it not possible to eradicate the everlasting opponent. For apparent causes, everlasting opponents Kentucky and Mississippi State, and Ole Miss and Vanderbilt most popular to maintain issues unchanged. The identical goes for permanents Auburn and Georgia, and Alabama and Tennessee, that are decades-old, annual rivalry video games the colleges wished to protect.

Now, with two further members and a loud refrain for change coming from each ESPN and within the league, the format is in for an overhaul.

Amongst convention executives, just a few choices have bubbled to the floor however none of them have been correctly vetted or disseminated to members.

Many consider there may be an urge for food within the league so as to add a ninth convention recreation. The ten-game conference-only slate final fall has been described as a smashing success, particularly for the SEC’s tv companions. Not solely does it assure eight extra convention video games for TV, however with two new blue bloods getting into the league, it ensures extra big-time matchups for a linear product that’s shedding subscribers.

“ESPN will drive the matchups,” says one league supply.

“If final 12 months taught us something,” says one other, “school soccer revolves round tv.”

With the variety of video games decided, a call should be made about divisions. Are they on the chopping block? Some consider so, changed by both a pod system or no system in any respect. For years now, the Massive 12 has operated with no pod or divisional format. The ten groups performed a round-robin, with the highest two squads assembly within the championship recreation.

A round-robin system is not possible in a 16-team league. So what then?

“Every staff has three everlasting opponents and 6 rotational,” suggests one league supply.

This division-less 3–6 format would protect long-standing rivalry video games—although not all of them—and would assure that each staff within the convention would meet each other each different 12 months. Whereas the mannequin is gaining steam inside the league, it has its personal points.

The 2 groups with the most effective information play within the SEC championship recreation, however which will result in messy tie-breakers and too many rematches.

Additionally, figuring out everlasting opponents is an unenviable process that can virtually actually end in bitter emotions amongst some. Defending and sorting by end-of-the-year rivalry video games is the “hardest” half, says one SEC administrator.

Alabama-Auburn, Mississippi State-Ole Miss and Tennessee-Vanderbilt are apparent decisions as everlasting, in-state companions. 4 SEC groups finish their seasons towards ACC groups: Georgia (Georgia Tech), Florida (Florida State), South Carolina (Clemson) and Kentucky (Louisville). However what of the remainder?

That leaves Missouri, Arkansas, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Texas-OU, apparent everlasting companions, are anticipated to maintain their yearly conflict in an October date that’s constructed across the Texas State Honest.

Does Texas-Texas A&M resume its annual assembly? And if that’s the case, how does LSU, which at the moment performs the Aggies because the final recreation, finish its season? Does the Bedlam Collection proceed or does Oklahoma get paired at season’s finish with former Massive 12 mate Missouri, which, for now, ends its season with Arkansas?

There are a whole lot of questions.

“We’ll should get within the room and determine all of it out,” says a league administrator.

After all, there are extra choices than the division-less 3–6 format. They embody a division-less 2–7 mannequin or an eight-game 3–5 format.

Some are married to divisions and wish them stored. Do the 2 most jap groups within the SEC West, Alabama and Auburn, transfer to the East? In that scenario, the convention would preserve its comparable scheduling format and add a ninth recreation.

Throughout SEC media days final week, SEC Community, the league’s personal TV channel, proposed a pod system that follows a 3–6 format. The 4 four-team pods break up up the convention’s conventional powers and have been principally aligned geographically.

However guess what? There are issues with it, too. Auburn and Georgia are in separate pods, ending the annual recreation dubbed the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, performed 125 instances and yearly since 1944.

And there’s one other drawback too: Texas and Texas A&M are in separate pods. Whereas one league administrator believes the 2 faculties should be stored collectively to play annually, one other says they should be separated to maintain the groupings extra balanced.

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