SEC
The 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 lately it has been regarded as one the strongest conferences in the country. 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.
The Southeastern Conference was also the first to hold a championship game (and award a subsequent title) for college football and was one of the founding members of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). The current commissioner of the Southeastern Conference is Michael Slive. The current president of the Southeastern Conference is Michael F. Adams, current University of Georgia President.
SEC Fan Gear
East
| Florida | Georgia | Kentucky | South Carolina | Tennessee | Vanderbilt |
West
| Alabama | Arkansas | Auburn | LSU | Ole Miss | Mississippi State |
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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. 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:
Sewanee: 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. 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.
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. 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.