New SEC Additions? From TX Tech Board

[DKW 86 7,440]

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TCUtoBCS06

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Post #96 TCU and SOUTHERN MISS rumored to be joining SEC in 2008 !! Reply

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The rumor in BIRMINGHAM (SEC hdqtrs) is that the SEC is looking to expand to 14 teams, if the BIG EAST does so. The ACC is also looking to expand to 14 if the BIG EAST does it. The latest talk is that the BIG EAST is 100% certain to expand to 14 teams in the near future. When they do, the ACC will match them, then the SEC will follow suit too.

The SEC wants badly to get into the TEXAS recruiting and media market. They need a team in TEXAS. UT and A&M are not candidates, mainly because they are not interested. The SEC is "very interested" in TCU and SOUTHERN MISS as their 2 invitees in 2008, according to talk in Birmingham, and Fort Worth. Here is why TCU is the #1 candidate for an SEC invite right now (with SOUTHERN MISS):

1) ARKANSAS has never been happy in the SEC and has needed a more "natural" rival and a closer rival. TCU would fit that bill as a fomer SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE foe.

2) TCU gives the SEC a big recruiting entree into the state of TEXAS which they crave.

3) The DALLAS FORT WORTH media market is one of the largest in the nation that is not fully utilized in the view of the SEC. SMU does not excite the DALLAS area and FORT WORTH could be better marketed. Exciting games like TCU-FLORIDA, or TCU-TENNESSEE, or TCU-GEORGIA, would energize the entire state of Texas, as well as the entire Dallas-Fort Worth area.

4) There are more SEC alums in the Dallas Fort Worth area then any other metro area with no SEC team appearances. SEC alums who live in the DFW area have been screaming to the SEC for years now to bring SEC games to the DFW area. A TCU invite would solve this problem.

5) TCU-ALABAMA games, TCU-FLORIDA games, TCU-TENNESSEE games would be the most exciting games in the entire state of TEXAS in whatever weekends they were played. BAYLOR-TECH, or TEXAS A&M-OKIE STATE games, are boring and ignored by everyone. SEC games in TEXAS would be the biggest thing in the whole state by far on the weekends they were played at TCU! It would energize the whole state!

6) The SEC would like TCU to either expand their stadium by 20,000-30,000

(to about 65,000-75,000 total capacity) or show plans to do so prior to the bid in 2008. In fact, TCU has already started studies to do exactly that and plans are being made right now for that expansion!

7) VANDERBILT has always been the "lone ranger" in the SEC by being the only school in the SEC with extremely high academic requirements and high academic prestige and reputation. VANDY has been screaming to the SEC lately for a "sister school" with equally high academic standards and TCU meets that standard. VANDY has been pushing very very hard for TCUs inclusion in the SEC in 2008.

8) The SEC has researched all TCU sports and they believe TCU could compete immediately for SEC conference championships in baseball (MWC champs in 2006), football (MWC champs in 2005 and #9 team in the nation), Track (#4 track team in the nation), women's basketball (NCAA tournament invitees and conference champions), tennis (nationally ranked every year), and mens golf (Top ten every year). The only TCU program that would be SEC substandard would be mens basketball, but that can change in a hearbeat, so only one non-competitive program out of 10 is an exceptional achievement for TCU and the SEC is impressed!

9) In the WEST division of the SEC, TCU could be competitive immediately in the big revenue sport of football. TCU could easily beat the Mississippi teams and Kentucky, and Arkansas, and with some luck against LSU, TCU could win the WEST division of the SEC and play for the SEC championship! The SEC thinks excitement like that in the state of texas would open up recruiting and media markets for the SEC like they have never seen before. The SEC is very excited about this possibility.

10) KENTUCKY has always wanted to leave the SEC EAST division, and BAMA and AUBURN have always wanted to be in the more logical EAST. Expansion would allow all of that and this would be the "new" SEC alignment according to the rumors in Birmingham:

SEC EAST

ALABAMA

AUBURN

SOUTH CAROLINA

GEORGIA

TENNESSEE

FLORIDA

VANDERBILT

SEC WEST

LSU (LSU gets permanent reservations to SEC Championship game.)

SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

OLE MISS

ARKANSAS

TCU

MISS STATE

KENTUCKY

[BamaGrad03 0]

That would be completely unfair to all the teams in the new east. And there is no way that this could fly.

[tigerfan1234 0]

Boy, I sure wish Texas was interested because they make sense as an SEC school. Texas-LSU would be huge, Auburn-Texas would be huge, Texas vs. anybody would be huge. TCU may be a good choice, but I don't think their football uniforms or mascot are SEC caliber at this time. The SEC is a classic uniform conference and what the hell is a horned frog? I would not be opposed to them joining, but they would at least have to chage their uniforms to fit the SEC style. Southern Miss has always been a natural choice. I love Southern Miss and they should have been added to the SEC years ago. Think about where they would be now had they been an SEC school for the last ten years. The only potential drawback with Southern Miss is if they are weak in other sports. I never hear much about their basketball, baseball, track programs. The SEC is a conference known for being competitve in all sports. We need the new schools to reflect that. If I was in charge of this decison, I would take Louisville first and then decide between TCU and Southern Miss.

[AUslug 1]

I like whoever wrote this, they know all of this information and nothing to back it up.

[DKW 86 7,440]

Said it before, say it again:

With USM in the SEC, they would drop MSU and Ole Miss into oblivion because they would recruit every decent player in MS.

Trips to TCU? We are already crying about trips to UArk.

Give me Tulane and Louisville: Tulane, cuts into LSU recruiting later on and a trip every other year to Nawlins. They can be good. Bowden went 11-0 with them not that long ago.

Louisville is a up and coming team and would make a good trip too. Stadium is close to being there too.

Louisville goes into the East, Tulane into the West. LSU gets a natural Rival back into the SEC.

[Aubie16 1]

emotions are fun

[GoAU 1,600]

Wow - talk about a mismatch between East and West!!

It would be even more one-sided than the mismatch between the Big 12 North and South...

[tigerfan1234 0]

I said Tulane would be a good choice awhile ago, but everyone jumped on that. They said Tulane had their chance and blew it. Playing in the N.O. every other year would be great, but Tulane would need to build an outdoor stadium because I hate when football is played indoors. I don't know, the TCU thing is interesting if you think about it. I don't like the way the east and west divisions might be split though. Too much power in the east. Need more balance.

[BamaGrad03 0]

I say we add Ga Tech to the east and Souther Miss to the west and be done with it.

[tigerfan1234 0]

Problem with the expansion thing is you have a few teams who could fit into the SEC who are close by, but are already in major conferences. Why would GA Tech, Clemson or Louisville leave their respective conferences to join the SEC? Louisville just went to the Big East and no way the ACC is going to allow any team to leave when they fought tooth and nail to expand recently. Plus, leaving the ACC to go to the SEC is a lateral move and doesn't really benefit the schools who would leave. It's all about money and exposure and both conferences offer that. TCU is a very interesting choice, but are they SEC caliber? I don't know. It would take some adjusting to get used to them being an SEC school. Southern Miss is a very logical choice, but not a big market and I don't know about their overall sports program. The SEC does lack that big market and it makes perfect sense to lure a team from a large city. Can TCU become a big rival with anyone in the SEC being so far away? Arkansas is kinda out there all alone and have been unhappy for awhile now. We don't want to bring in more teams that are too far away from the epicenter of the SEC. It won't do anything for the SEC or TCU to bring them in and noone get excited about playing them. No state in the south is ever gonna see TCU fans walking around on a daily basis so it will be hard to establish true rivalries.

[BayouBengal 0]

GA Tech left SEC thinking it was going to the better ACC so I say forget them. Don't ever let them back. Tulane left cause it felt like it couldn't compete. I think they should get back in. They could compete in most of the other sports and would probably be better than Vanderbilt in football. The money from the SEC distribution would be nice for them too.

Louisville would be a nice addition as well. I don't like the Southern Miss pick... 3 teams from the state of Mississippi?? Correction.... 3 Crappy teams from Mississippi.

Know this would never happen, but Texas in the west... Florida State in the East.

Wow talk about a super conference. (Both are SEC type schools)

[tigerfan1234 0]

Can Tulane ever be a consistent player in football Bayou Bengal? Surely if they were in the SEC, they could recruit better. I know their baseball team is awesome now and basketball is okay, but what about the other sports at Tulane? Are they going to get their student body back after the storm? I know they dropped many of the sports teams due to lack of funding. Another problem I see with Tulane is their student body is not really interested in sports like SEC schools are. You don't want to get another Vanderbilt. I went to a game there four years ago and it was really boring.

[JB33 1]

Better idea: Texas and Oklahoma (or Tex A&M if OU won't budge) join the SEC West - shifting AU and UA to the East, as mentioned heretofore - thereby putting one more nail in the coffin of the sagging Big 12 and establishing the SEC, once and for all, as college football's undisputed superpower, not to mention the undisputed #1 conference in college athletics. (As if any of that were actually necessary - sorry, ACC.)

Won't happen, but we can always dream . . .

[WarDlowe 39]

well the Pac 10 is also the superior conference because they have the almighty, ESPN ordained Trojans. That alone makes you great.

[Draven 0]

That would be completely unfair to all the teams in the new east. And there is no way that this could fly.

244494[/snapback]

Hate to agree with BG, but yeah this is just crazy no way the big three of each divison will not remain the same unless you get two teams like Texas and OU or FSU and Miami.

Only four teams should even be considered Tulane, Southern Miss, Louisville, and Ga Tech.

I would like to see Arky to the Big 12 in exchange for Baylor to the CUSA and UCF comes to the SEC. I lived in Orlando for many years UCF is huge in the city and with many hundred thousand as a fan base it would only be a few years before they could compete with everyone. Just bring UGA to the West and add UCF to East that with Tulane and Louisville would make a good conference imho.

[quietfan 233]

SEC is just fine as it is. No need to make it bigger or tougher.

Toughness-wise, we already knock our best teams out of MNC contention too often. Size-wise, 6 teams per division means 5 games vs. everyone in your division, 3 from the other division, with 4 slots for OOC games. The schools can choose to schedule those OCC games for breathers or for strengthening their SOS, as they wish.

Don't fix what ain't broke!

Work on some national playoffs...now THAT'S broken!

[ProgRock 0]

I agree

I don't want to pound my chest about the "we're the toughest conference" thing because I'm too busy pounding my chest that Auburn is the greatest thing.SEC is number one because Auburn's in it.

Like old man Bowden said a long time ago...I don't want to play in a league where I have little or no shot of playing for a NC...It's tough here it doesn't need to get worse.Bowden didn't want to play Auburn and Alabama the same year,the league couldn't promise him that soooo he went to the "at the time" weaker by far ACC and played fro the NC quite a bit.

Auburn

LSU

Florida

UGA

Tenn

Bama

and every now and the Ark and USC

that's enough

[TigerOne 1,152]

that article must be a joke. The SEC messed in it's nest

when it didn't get Fla St. and or Miami. Talent in Florida ain't too shabby.

[tgr4lfe 220]

SEC EAST

ALABAMA

AUBURN

SOUTH CAROLINA

GEORGIA

TENNESSEE

FLORIDA

VANDERBILT

SEC WEST

LSU

SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

OLE MISS

ARKANSAS

TCU

MISS STATE

KENTUCKY

Ladies and gentlemen,

I introduce to you the new Big 12 south and north!!! LSU obviously the odd man out as david indicates. Good grief wouldn't the EAst be a heckuva battle to win!!!!!

[one 2]

I agree that we are right with 12 teams.

(Though I usual follow the "If it ain't broke break it and make it better" philosophy of managment.)

I am not sure we exactly the right 12 teams and alignment.

Schools that could logically be considered if we expanded:

Ga Tech

Clemson

Southern Miss

Memphis

Louisville

USF

UCF

These are all teams that are already in states represented in the SEC.

If you ask me, the whole thing needs to be reshuffled and "superconferences" should be formed that feed a playoff system.

[Tigermike 3,053]

If the SEC wants TCU for the West, IMHO they should raid the Big East and entice West Virginia to join for expansion in the East.

SoMiss is pretty good from time to time, but the state of Mississippi cannot support 3 SEC schools. TCU & West Virginia would make much more sense than TCU & SoMiss.

West Virginia!

[eagle76 1]

All this discussion about TCU???

Why not Texas Tech?????

[tigerfan1234 0]

Actually I think Memphis wouldn't be a bad choice. Texas Tech is way too far away to consider for the SEC. I think it would come down to Louisville, West Virginia, Memphis, UCF, TCU, Southern Miss, Georgia Tech, Clemson. Out of that pile, I say only three are realistic possibilities.

[freebody 0]

TCU - no way, no fan base - just because they are in DFW doesn't mean anyone there really cares about them. GT is in Atlanta, and has more history/resources (as a public school) than TCU, and they The whole idea would be to get rid of Vandy, not bring in another one. (Similar thing applies to Tulane).

USM - no way you have 3 teams from the state with the smallest population base (both general and alumni) - USM does not add enough to warrant even replacing Vandy, once you consider the deleterious effects on and .

GT actually left the old SEC to go independent, because Bobby Dodd wanted to be the Notre Dame of the South. That didn't work, and they hooked up with the ACC. They are dead to the SEC, and should remain so.

The late 80's pipe dream for SEC expansion was to add Arkansas, Texas, and aTm from the dying SWC, along with FSU, USC, and Miami (all independents at the time), and form a 16 team "superconference" with two 8-team divisions. Texas and aTm were under political pressure not to abandon some of the other Texas schools (TT and Baylor in particular), and FSU and Miami didn't want a full SEC schedule. So, Kramer ended up with Hogs and Cocks.

There is no need to add any more schools unless they can increase revenue disproportionately. Really, only the four schools mentioned back in the late 80's could do that and make geographic sense. The only realistic improvement would be to replace Vandy. The bottom line is money, and they add nothing.

Louisville would be an obvious improvement over Vandy, but the one that makes the most sense to me would be Clemson - especially since they don't have a real role in the ACC anymore. They were never a real factor in basketball there, and with FSU and now VT and Miami, they are struggling to maintain even second-tier status football-wise where they once (1980's) were cock-of-the-walk. (They would still be second-tier in the SEC East along with USC, but they would at least bring in bowl money and would not be a perennial doormat like Vandy).

[MDM4AU 336]

The first thing I thought, after this boob has no idea what he is talking about, was that Ole Miss and MSU would not allow So. Miss in the SEC.

Since when has it ever been thought that UAT wanted in the East? I know it had been batted around in "what ifs" about Auburn moving to the East ifthe SEC ever picked up So. Miss or someone like that. But I haven never heard anyone from Auburn actually say they wanted to be in the East Division.

And what kind of *&^%$ sense does it make to have Kentucky in the West?