🏈 NYT is reporting Mizzou to SEC is immenent. It brings the question of alignments up...and why hasn'

[TerryP]

I see all the talk of moving Bama and AU to the East. Moving one of the East teams to the West and throwing a new school in both divisions. My point is the whole conversation has been centered on who goes to the East and who goes to the West?

Why not just change the SEC to the North and the South? In our terms, we'd still keep UT (assuming they go to the N) and AU without changing our traditional rivalries.

 

[Bo]

I've wondered that and brought it up also. Looks like to me, that would be the best way for everybody to keep their traditional rivalries. The only one that might be in jeopardy would be UT vs. UF, and that only became a rivalry afer the first SEC expansion.

 

[Southern Bama]

I used to date a gal that felt like she had to overspice everything she cooked and it just messed up the meal, more doesnt always mean better. I hope the SEC doesnt get overspiced ......

 

[psychojoe]

I have seen a North: Missouri, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Sooth LSU, MSU, OM, AU, ALA, FLA, aTm projection.

Georgia might object here as Auburn and Florida are their two biggest rivals.

 

[bama29fan]

toot my own horn here... :biggrin:

http://rolltidebama.com/forum/showt...-move-to-East-sources-say&p=607770#post607770

really i cant remember if i heard that somewhere else or not....but I'll take the credit for it until someone proves otherwise :lol:

 

[BamaCore]

I see all the talk of moving Bama and AU to the East. Moving one of the East teams to the West and throwing a new school in both divisions. My point is the whole conversation has been centered on who goes to the East and who goes to the West?

Why not just change the SEC to the North and the South? In our terms, we'd still keep UT (assuming they go to the N) and AU without changing our traditional rivalries.

Yeah, I've always wondered how that would work. My guess would be this:

North:
Arkansas
Kentucky
Missouri
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt

South:
Alabama
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
LSU
Mississippi State
Texas A&M

It's hard to find a good cut off point but it seems you'd probably have to split up Ole Miss and Mississippi State. You might could put both of them in the North division and South Carolina in the South...but I'm not sure that would be much better.

I got bored and made a quick map of it:

 

[AFF]

Put both new-comers in the west, move bama and auburn to the east, move vanderbilt to the west.
That way, east and west actually mean something and the UT and AU rivalries remain intact.
Also, each division gets one perennial cellar dweller in Vanderbilt and Kentucky.

The only potential issue with this setup would be that most of the traditional SEC power houses would be in the East.

SEC West:

• Arkansas
• LSU
• Mississippi
• Mississippi State
• Missouri
• Texas A&M
• Vanderbilt

SEC East:

• Alabama
• Auburn
• Florida
• Georgia
• Kentucky
• South Carolina
• Tennessee

 

[XXL TideFan]

Move da barn. Deprive them of an opportunity to play Bama except on a rotational basis. It would kill them.

 

[jdpas29]

The most balancd way i see is for auburn and ala to split up. Bama in the west. Aubs in the east. Vandy on one side kentucky on the other:halo:

 

[Duder]

We fear change!

 

[It Takes Eleven]

We fear change!

We need a Missouri Compromise...

 

[CaptainTide]

What about this?

http://rolltidebama.com/forum/showt...st-sources-say&p=607741&viewfull=1#post607741

 

[bama29fan]

North and south

South would be the current west but we give up Arky for Florida and add TAM

North would be the current East but minus florida and add Arky and Mizz.

South would be pretty darn tough but in my mind that makes the most sense geographically and would keep most of the big rivals together. not sure how it would affect fla and ga game....but it could be worked out

 

[bama29fan]

What about this?

http://rolltidebama.com/forum/showt...st-sources-say&p=607741&viewfull=1#post607741

^^^what he said but see post #19....:smile:

 

[Argo]

I'm surprised by the people who are in favor of North/South. Have you guys ever watched a Big 12 Championship game? Once Spurrier leaves and USCe drops back down to Vandy status, do yall really want to put Ole Miss, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Missouri in the same division? Why don't we just give Arkansas and Tennessee a free pass to the Championship game every year.

And then we get to battle Auburn, LSU, Florida, Georgia, A&M and Mississippi State every fall? No thanks.

 

[bamafan9201]

Here's my configuration. It balances talent out a little better around the divisions and stops the SEC West from being the only thing worth watching right now.



I borrowed this from the earlier post because I couldn't find the actual background online anywhere so props goes to him for finding/making this. With this line, you don't really segregate any MAJOR rivalries. Sure the Vandy vs UK/UT rivalry is lost, but Vandy could easily set-up the same thing like Alabama vs UT where they play each other every year if they want. It balances the conferences the best in my opinion

 

[LBS]

But for some rule written somewhere, a rule that can be re-written as easily as it was written, is there any reason that we have to have divisions at all? We decided out champion without divisions and a championship game for most of our history. We can do the same for out top two teams.

For teams like Bama and Georgia who have two SEC traditional rivals, all schools can have two. The balance of the SEC schedule could rotate among the other members. This scenario offers the shortest period of time between any two teams facing off.

Traditional Rivals
BAMA = AUB, TN
AUB = BAMA, UGA
UGA = AUB, FLA
FLA = UGA, USC
USC = FLA, TN
TN = USC, BAMA
KY = VANDY, MISSOU
VANDY = KY, MSU
MSU = VANDY, MISS
MISS = MSU, MISSOU
MISSOU = MISS, KY
ARK = LSU, TAMU
LSU = ARK, TAMU
TAMU = ARK, LSU

 

[Bo]

I'm surprised by the people who are in favor of North/South. Have you guys ever watched a Big 12 Championship game? Once Spurrier leaves and USCe drops back down to Vandy status, do yall really want to put Ole Miss, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Missouri in the same division? Why don't we just give Arkansas and Tennessee a free pass to the Championship game every year.

And then we get to battle Auburn, LSU, Florida, Georgia, A&M and Mississippi State every fall? No thanks.

Just curious, if you're not in favor of the North/South thing, what do you want to see?

 

[bama29fan]

I'm surprised by the people who are in favor of North/South. Have you guys ever watched a Big 12 Championship game? Once Spurrier leaves and USCe drops back down to Vandy status, do yall really want to put Ole Miss, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Missouri in the same division? Why don't we just give Arkansas and Tennessee a free pass to the Championship game every year.

And then we get to battle Auburn, LSU, Florida, Georgia, A&M and Mississippi State every fall? No thanks.

I agree that the south would have a heavy balance of the power in the sec which would make Arky and Tenn the most likely candidates to fight for the north slot. but its not unlike what we have now...Florida has been the front runner in the east for a long time now....do i like the fact that we would have to play a tougher schedule..no.

Maybe the best option is like LBS suggested....get rid of the divisions....or forget geographical logic and just shuffle everyone to make equally powerful divisions...but that is based on current power....10 years from now Georgia, Tenn, Arky, may be the strongest teams in the SEc and Bama, LSU are looking in from the outside or may be able to punch there ticket to the SECCG because everyone else has gotten weaker.

The more i think of it LBS might be on to something.

 

['65 Cobra]

I agree that the south would have a heavy balance of the power in the sec which would make Arky and Tenn the most likely candidates to fight for the north slot. but its not unlike what we have now...Florida has been the front runner in the east for a long time now....do i like the fact that we would have to play a tougher schedule..no.

Maybe the best option is like LBS suggested....get rid of the divisions....or forget geographical logic and just shuffle everyone to make equally powerful divisions...but that is based on current power....10 years from now Georgia, Tenn, Arky, may be the strongest teams in the SEc and Bama, LSU are looking in from the outside or may be able to punch there ticket to the SECCG because everyone else has gotten weaker.

The more i think of it LBS might be on to something.

But Georgia and Tennessee have both been VERY good in the not too distant past and will be again. To add Florida to a division that already has Bama, LSU, and Auburn is crazy.

The simple solution is usually best - simply add one expansion team to the East and one to the West. Who cares about actual georgraphy? Missouri is hardly in the "Southeast" to begin with.

PS - I am still opposed to adding Missouri to begin with. The whole TV market argument is wayyyyyyy overdone. The SEC is about football brands. TAMU is a good brand. Mizzou is not.