Southeastern Conference

Infobox Athletic Conference
name = Southeastern Conference
short_name = SEC
established = 1933

logo_size = 172
association = NCAA
division = Division I
subdivision = FBS
members = 12
sports = 17
mens = 8
womens = 9
region = Southern United States
former_names =
hq_city = Birmingham
hq_stateabb = AL
hq_state = Alabama
commissioner = Michael Slive
since = 2002
website = http://www.secsports.com/
color = 161149
font_color = FFCB39


map_size = 275The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a college athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I in athletic competitions; for football, it is part of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division I-A), where it is commonly regarded as the strongest conference in the country. [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/bill_trocchi/12/12/conference.rankings/index.html SI.com - Writers - Bill Trocchi: Mighty SEC holds down top spot prior to bowl season - Thursday December 13, 2007 8:07PM ] ] The conference is one of the most successful both on the field and financially, averaging more than six national championships per year since 1990 and consistently leading all conferences in revenue distribution to its members including a record $127.2 million for the 2007-2008 fiscal year.cite web |url=http://secsports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=2&url_article_id=11168&change_well_id=2 |title=2007-2008 SEC Revenue Distribution |publisher=Southeastern Conference |date=2008-06-01 |accessdate=2008-06-01]

The Southeastern Conference was also the first to hold a championship game (and award a subsequent title) for football and was one of the founding members of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). The current commissioner of the Southeastern Conference is Michael Slive. [http://www.secsports.com/new/local/commissioner_070202.html] The current president of the Southeastern Conference is Michael F. Adams, current University of Georgia President.

History

The SEC was established in December 1932, when the 13 members of the Southern Conference located west and south of the
Appalachian Mountains left to form their own conference. [ [http://www.onlineseats.com/college-basketball-tickets/sec-tournament/index.asp Sec Tournament Tickets College Basketball Ticket - Buy Cheap Sec Tournament Tickets ] ] [ [http://www.geocities.com/nolefan_fsu/summary/fsu_sec.html FSU and the SEC ] ] Ten of the thirteen charter members have remained in the conference since its inception: the University of Alabama, Auburn University, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Kentucky, Louisiana State University, University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, University of Tennessee, and Vanderbilt University.

The other charter members were:
* : Left the SEC in 1940. The school has since deemphasized varsity athletics and is currently a member of the Division III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
* Georgia Tech: Left the SEC in 1964. In 1975, it became a founding member of the Metro Conference, one of the predecessors to today's Conference USA. Georgia Tech competed in the Metro in all sports except football, in which it was independent. In 1978, Georgia Tech joined the Atlantic Coast Conference for all sports, where it has remained.
* Tulane: Left the SEC in 1966. Along with Georgia Tech, it was a charter member of the Metro Conference. Unlike Tech, however, Tulane remained in the Metro until the Metro Conference merged into the new Conference USA in 1995. Tulane remained an independent in football until the formation of Conference USA.

In 1991, the SEC expanded from 10 to 12 members with the addition of:
* University of Arkansas (see Arkansas Razorbacks for team history before SEC)
* University of South Carolina (see South Carolina Gamecocks for team history before SEC).

In 1992, the SEC adopted the divisional setup that exists today. Also in 1992, the SEC was the first conference to receive permission from the NCAA to conduct an annual championship game in football, featuring the winners of the conference's Eastern and Western divisions. [http://www.secsports.com/index.php?change_well_id=9993&s About the Southeastern Conference] ] It was held at Birmingham's Legion Field the first two years and at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta thereafter.

During the 2007-2008 fiscal year review meeting, there was discussion among SEC leadership about the possibility of starting a TV network dedicated to its conference, much in the same way the Big Ten Conference has done with the Big Ten Network. A decision was made to postpone the decision until at least the following year. [ [http://www.tidesports.com/article/20080531/NEWS/733342667/1011/news&tc=yahoo SEC considering starting own TV network | TideSports.com ] ]

In August 2008 the SEC announced an unprecedented 15-year television contract with CBS worth an estimated $55 million a year. This will continue the relationship the SEC already has with CBS, which puts the SEC in the unique position as the only conference to have its own exclusive national television network of the big three networks (CBS,NBC,and ABC) to display the SEC's events. [http://www.secsports.com/index.php?change_well_id=9993&s About the Southeastern Conference] ] In the same month, the league also announced another landmark television contract with ESPN worth $2.25 billion or $150 million a year for the life of the contract, which is for 15 years. It is the longest and wealthiest contract among all television deals among the major conferences. With these contracts, the SEC has the richest television deals in the country and will make the SEC the most nationally televised and visible conference in the country with the coverage that is provided by these contracts. [http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080826/SPORTS/808260339] ] [http://secsports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=3&url_article_id=11428&change_well_id=2] ]

EC Commissioners

The office of Commissioner was created in 1940 [ [http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=22&url_article_id=9250&change_well_id=2 Stories of Character :: Celebrating 75 Years ] ]
*One men's home game per year played at Freedom Hall in Louisville.
*New stadium scheduled to open for 2009 season.
*Two games played each year at Little Rock, one non-conference game and one SEC game.
*New arena scheduled to open for 2010-11 season.
*New Alex Box Stadium scheduled to open for 2009 season.
*Though Mississippi State's Dudy Noble Field official seating capacity is 7,200, its total capacity is 15,500, which includes privately owned seating in Left Field Lounge. Mississippi State holds the all-time NCAA on-campus record for one day attendance at 14,991. [ [http://msuinfo.ur.msstate.edu/alumnus/fall.99/25attendance.htm Mississippi State Alumnus:Fall 1999 ] ]

Football

Before expansion, each SEC school played 6 conference games. Five of these games were against permanent opponents, developing some traditional rivalries between schools, and the 6th game rotated around the other 4 members of the conference.

From 1992 through 2001, each team had two permanent inter-divisional opponents, allowing many traditional rivalries from the pre-expansion era (such as Florida vs. Auburn, Kentucky vs. LSU and Vanderbilt vs. Alabama) to continue. However, complaints from some league athletic directors about imbalance in the schedule (for instance, Auburn's two permanent opponents from the East were Florida and Georgia – two of the SEC's stronger football programs at the time – while Mississippi State played relatively weaker Kentucky and South Carolina every year) led to the SEC reducing the permanent opponents to only one per team.

Under the current format, each school plays a total of eight conference games, consisting of the other five teams in its division, two schools from the other division on a rotating basis, and one school from the other division that it plays each year. All permanent inter-divisional games, with the exception of Arkansas vs. South Carolina, were played annually before SEC expansion in 1992. [ [http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=317 www.secsports.com - SEC Football Scheduling Format ] ] The following table shows the permanent opponent for each school listed by total number of games played (records through 2007 with western wins listed first) [http://mcubed.net/ncaaf/series/ mcubed.net : NCAA Football : Series records ] ] :

National Championships

Since its founding in 1932, and the first full academic year of competition in 1933, SEC members have won a total of 161 team national championships.cite web |url=http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=9993 |title=National Titles Held by the SEC |publisher=Southeastern Conference |accessdate=2007-07-16]

Conference Champions

The "Southeastern Conference" sponsors eight men's sports and ten women's sports, and awards a conference championship in every one of them.

Facts

An SEC school, University of Mississippi, has been chosen to host the first United States Presidential Election debate of 2008, to be held September 26, 2008. This is also the first ever presidential debate to be held at an SEC school. [ [http://debate.olemiss.edu 2008 Presidential Debate | The University of Mississippi - Official Home Page ] ]

See also

*List of Southeastern Conference Champions
*List of SEC National Champions
*List of SEC men's basketball tournament locations
*SEC Championship Game
*SEC Tournament
*SEC on CBS

References

External links

* [http://www.secsports.com/ Official Site of the Southeastern Conference]
* [http://www.sightseebyspace.com/browse_by.php?category=College%20Football%20Stadiums%20-%20NCAA%20SEC Aerial and Satellite Photography of SEC Stadiums] from SightseeBySpace.com
* [http://www.secfootball.itgo.com/2008SECFootballBubbleSchedule.html 2008 SEC Football Bubble Schedule]