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The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a and was one of the founding members of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). The current commissioner of the Southeastern Conference is Michael Slive {Link without Title} . HISTORY is the current commissioner of the SEC .]] The SEC was established in December 1932 , when the 13 members of the Southern Conference located west and south of the , Florida , Georgia , Kentucky , Mississippi , and Tennessee ; as well as Auburn , Louisiana State , Mississippi State , and Vanderbilt universities. The other charter members were:
The SEC expanded from 10 to 12 members in 1991 with the addition of the University Of Arkansas from the Southwest Conference and the University Of South Carolina from the independent ranks in football and the Metro Conference in other sports. 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. It was held at Birmingham's Legion Field the first two years and at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta thereafter. CURRENT MEMBERS (AND YEAR JOINED) The SEC currently has twelve member institutions in nine Southeastern states. The geograpic domain of the conference streches from Arkansas to South Carolina and from Kentucky to Florida . One or both of the flagship universities in each state in the geographic domain of the SEC is a member of the conference, along with one of the preeminent private universities of the Deep South. The conference is divided into two geographic divisions: the East Division and the West Division. The twelve current members of the Southeastern Conference are: SEC East COLLEGE FOOTBALL RIVALRIES IN THE SEC Football has a rich tradition in the SEC, and its many rivalries among its members have long histories. Some of the rivalries involving SEC teams include: In addition to the permanent inter-division rival, each football team plays all of its five division opponents plus two rotating opponents from the other division, for a total of eight conference games per season. RIVALRIES IN OTHER SPORTS IN THE SEC The top athletic priority throughout the SEC is football, with one exception. Kentucky , which has one of the most storied Basketball traditions in the country, is also one of only two Division I-A schools to earn more revenue from its basketball program than its football program. (The other is Arizona .) Vanderbilt and Arkansas also place more emphasis on basketball vis-a-vis football than most other SEC schools. Despite the conference-wide emphasis on football, several rivalries have developed in other sports: Men's basketball
:The dominance of these two teams in the '90s over eveyone else in the SEC led to quite a rivalry, mostly by default of being the best two teams in the conference.
:This premier conference matchup has become a major rivalry in recent years with the rise of the Florida basketball program under former Kentucky assistant coach, Billy Donovan .
:A historic "border war" between two of the sport's giants.
:This rivalry, unlike most that involve SEC schools, is relatively recent. For nearly 60 years, UK refused to schedule U of L in the regular season in either basketball or football. After a pulsating U of L victory over UK in the Mideast Regional final in the 1983 NCAA Basketball Tournament , pressure mounted on UK to schedule U of L; Cardinals supporters went so far as to propose a law mandating that the two schools schedule one another. The bill was never introduced, as a basketball series began in the 1983 - 84 season. The rivalry added a new edge in 2001 when the Cardinals hired former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino (although he was not hired directly from UK). Current UK head coach Tubby Smith is a former UK assistant under Pitino, and reportedly recommended Pitino to Louisville.
:This rivalry is also a "border war." The two teams have played over 200 times in their history.
:Not only are these two schools the closest to one another geographically within the SEC - a mere 95 miles separate them - but their respective head coaches, Mark Gottfried and Rick Stansbury, often battle each other for the same recruits. Other sports
:The Lady Vols have historically been one of the nation's dominant programs in that sport. Starting in the mid-1990s, UConn has emerged as Tennessee's main rival for national prominence. The Huskies won four national titles between 2000 and 2004 ; in three of those years, their victim in the NCAA final was Tennessee. For more information, see UConn-Tennessee Rivalry .
:These two storied programs have often butted heads for not only SEC titles, but NCAA titles, as well. There is also allegedly a personal rivalry between the head coaches.
:Historically these schools are arch-rivals, but following Tulane's decades long deemphesis of sports, this is the only sport in which the two schools are evenly matched. On several occasions matchups between the two have drawn national record-setting attendances. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS Since its founding in 1932, SEC members have won a total of 150 team national championships (as of June 5th 2005). Listed below are all championship teams of NCAA sponsored events, as well as the titles won in football. Conference members have won at least one title in all but two of the sponsored events, Softball and Women's Volleyball.
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
SEC Basketball Website |
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