(10-09-2013 01:37 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(10-09-2013 12:58 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(10-09-2013 12:50 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(10-09-2013 11:11 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  UT, Texas, is always a bad move for a conference. Texas helps kill conferences, just ask the old SWC folks and the Big 8 folks if they have a favorable or non favorable opinion of Texas' effect on the conference.

You want somebody from the Big12? Baylor. A respectable academic squad that competes from time to time and has a decent following. TCU, see Baylor.

WVU'S probably isn't a great choice. It would be the worst school academically, which is saying something Mississippi, and add very little on the field as well as on TV.

My two ideal picks for the SEC to get to 16 would be Florida State and Clemson. But it's not happening and it's not due to just markets. The SEC like all major conferences wants to add AAU schools to enhance future cross participation in securing grant revenue from corporations and the federal government. For that reason our primary targets to get to 16 will be Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, and possibly Kansas or Duke. In the right circumstances we might consider Georgia Tech again, ....might.

Oklahoma would be acceptable even though not in AAU. But I think an Oklahoma State / Oklahoma pair is not a possibility.

If we expand out of the Big 12, in spite of my past playful speculations, it is going to be Texas and Oklahoma, with a very doubtful Kansas as a dark horse. If we don't get any of those we will wait for another chance to go after a pair from the East.

I'm with you on FSU/Clemson. Neither would make the jump and for their own reasons which I can respect.

Being totally honest I don't see the SEC snagging AAU schools. We'll have to wait and hope that anti-Southern sentiment lapses long enough for them to add LSU to the rolls, especially since they deserve it.

The AAU is a crusty old organization with little, in my opinion, relevance to improving education. All of us, all of our schools, just need to hunker down and commit to improving the role they play. In time, and with the shift of migration down to us, it's only a matter of time before our schools become equally as important and respected.

As for football, there isn't anybody out there right now that adds to the brand in my opinion. The key to our success has been our uniquely Southern identity and adding certain teams, like the Oklahomas, could potentially detract from that. I'm in favour of a slow and steady approach to it.

What we are doing is working, we are the premier football conference and our schools continue to climb the rankings and earn national and worldwide respect, so let's just make sure we have sustained performance and growth and not put greed or excitement in the driver seat.

While I totally agree with your sentiment, if we had wanted F.S.U. and Clemson we could have gotten them a year and a half ago. I was already a gray when the expansion happened in 1992 and at that time I actually knew the commissioner, I'm not saying I traveled in the same circles or was his friend, but I am saying we had family connections (not relations). I goal in 1992 was to land Texas and Texas A&M along with Florida State and Clemson. As Jackie Sheryl pointed out we even talked about moving to 20 way back then by adding Miami and Georgia Tech back to that line up.

While things have changed with the network and market concepts entering into realignment strategies, the things that changed were related to existing markets not needing duplication. That why of the original targets only Texas and Texas A&M remained. We were set to add A&M and Oklahoma two years ago when the Longhorns got their LHN and suddenly were no longer interested in the PAC. Oklahoma backed out to stay with Texas and restructure the Big 12. Missouri entered the picture. New market, AAU, flagship were all the qualities that qualified Missouri. Some might say that now that we have A&M we don't need Texas. I don't think we need them, but if they wanted to join I don't think we would turn down the #1 money maker in college football.

When Kramer was not able to land his four top targets in 1992 he picked up South Carolina which is now completing its transition into a strong regional brand, and we picked up Arkansas to have a gateway to Dallas and the Texas market. A&M solidified that objective nicely. Missouri was a strong business pick up that enhanced the SEC's academic status even though many of our non AAU schools are ranked higher in some scholastic services rankings.

Think about what our moves on the map have done. Missouri, Arkansas, Texas A&M all expanded our Western boundary. If North Carolina and Virginia are unapproachable in the foreseeable future then how do we complete our expansion model successfully and with the greatest satisfaction to for our existing members?

I submit that what we have intentionally done is pursue the additions to the East while simultaneously and intentionally optimizing our opportunities to acquire the best possible additions to the West. Where else could Oklahoma and Texas move and have a ready made division of their former rivals, enhance an already wealthy conference with their presence, find easy travel for their alumni, and find a better social culture (not necessarily an academic one) than to become members of a Western division of the SEC comprised of Arkansas, L.S.U., Ole Miss, Miss State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M.

Making such a move then solves problems for Eastern rivals. Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt then comprise the East and all traditional rivalries are preserved. Both divisions have better balance. There are 3 strong brands in each, two brands that regularly challenge, 1 brand that occasionally challenges, and two regularly weaker teams.

What the SEC is trying to accomplish in expansion is really just two strong programs away from reality. Academic adds, AAU enhancements for the SECU, geographical balance, and content for the networks. Obviously basketball additions would help us more because our football profile is solidly #1. But, foregoing additions in North Carolina or Virginia the ease of scheduling and most of our lofty goals could be obtained by what I've laid out.

I agree with you about branding issues. I very much agree with your assessment of the AAU. Alabama and Georgia might be candidates for the AAU if the medical schools were still on campus. But systems in both states found a better way to concentrate their training for a much needed profession by funneling research dollars to U.A.B. and the Medical College of Georgia respectively. But even though what you say is true the federal research money and the ability to share projects between member schools means we have to respect the old guard clout of the AAU even if we know it for what it is. So don't discount the importance that Florida, who once flirted with leaving the SEC, and Vanderbilt place upon their membership in, and association with, the AAU other schools in that organization. From that respect Missouri and A&M were good first steps to stabilizing our ability to satisfy and hold the two members that we already had. When we can add to the bottom line, enhance our academic standing, make our scheduling much more flexible, keep our traditional rivals safe, and satisfy some of our best schools, I just don't see why we shouldn't do it.

I agree with all of that man.

I'd just add that we've, more or less, reached the limit of our cultural footprint. I think that footprint is the key to our success, as I mentioned. If we are going to expand in the future we need to strike a healthy balance. I'd argue that our cultural footprint is something unique to the S.E.C.. That balance is one part athletic success, one part academic success, and one part culture.

Two fine additions could include VA Tech, which is perhaps only as culturally relevant as Mizzou, and North Carolina State, more so.

I also think we have to be realistic about who and what we are. We are, undoubtedly, the premier athletic conference in terms of the big Football but we are the fourth best academic unit. Our major problem is we don't offer much to schools like UNC, Miami, Duke, and the like. That said, we can in time. The dynamic of higher education is changing and the AAU, while relevant today, is losing much of its esteem in its own overly rigid and nonsensical rules. I don't think I can overemphasize the importance domestic migration will play in those shifts South. The days when one had to choose between sunshine, beautiful women, food, and Southern hospitality, and advanced medical, nuclear, and robotic research are coming to a close.

Overall, the future is very bright for our conference on just about every front. Maybe it's just my conservative nature but I'd like for it to remain true to its roots and what I see as the secret to our success and position we enjoy today.