Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a college athletic conference which operates in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I-A.
History
The SEC was established in December 1932, when the 13 members of the Southern Conference located west and south of the Appalachians left to form their own conference. Ten of the 13 charter members have remained in the conference since its inception: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt universities. The other charter members are:
- Georgia Tech: Left the SEC in 1964. Joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1978, where it continues to reside.
- University of the South (Sewanee): Left the SEC in 1940. The school has since deemphasized varsity athletics, and is currently a member of the NCAA's Division III.
- Tulane University: Left the SEC in 1966. Remained an independent in football until it became a charter member of Conference USA in 1995.
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 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.
Current members (and year joined)
East Division
- University of Florida (1932)
- University of Georgia (1932)
- University of Kentucky (1932)
- University of South Carolina (1991)
- University of Tennessee (1932)
- Vanderbilt University (1932)
West Division
- University of Alabama (1932)
- University of Arkansas (1991)
- Auburn University (1932)
- Louisiana State University (1932) [=LSU]
- University of Mississippi (1932) [=Ole Miss]
- Mississippi State University (1932)
Sports sponsored
- Football
- Men's Basketball
- Women's Basketball
- Baseball
- Softball (except Vanderbilt)
- Women's Soccer
- Women's Volleyball (except Vanderbilt)
- Men's Cross Country (except South Carolina)
- Women's Cross Country
- Men's Track & Field (except MSU and Vanderbilt)
- Women's Track & Field
- Men's Swimming and Diving (except MSU, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas)
- Women's Swimming and Diving (except MSU, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt)
- Men's Tennis
- Women's Tennis
- Men's Golf
- Women's Golf
- Gymnastics (Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU)
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 (with travelling trophies or special names in parentheses):
- Auburn-Alabama (The Iron Bowl)
- Arkansas-LSU (The Golden Boot)
- Alabama-Tennessee ("The Third Saturday in October")
- Auburn-Georgia ("The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry")
- Florida-Tennessee
- Florida-Florida State
- Florida-Miami ("The War Canoe")
- Florida-Georgia ("The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party", played in Jacksonville)
- Georgia-Georgia Tech ("Clean, Old Fashioned Hate")
- Kentucky-Indiana
- Kentucky-Louisville (The Governor's Cup)
- Mississippi State-Ole Miss ("The Egg Bowl", battle for the Golden Egg)
- South Carolina-Clemson
- Tennessee-Kentucky
- Tennessee-Vanderbilt
Rivalries in Other Sports in the SEC
The top athletic priority in virtually all SEC schools is football, with one glaring exception: Kentucky, which has one of the most storied basketball traditions in the country. Vanderbilt also places more emphasis on basketball vis-a-vis football than most other SEC schools, though not at the level of UK.
Despite the conference-wide emphasis on football, several rivalries have developed in other sports:
- Kentucky-Louisville, men's basketball
- 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 final of the 1983 Mideast Regional in the 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 Wildcats coach Rick Pitino. An annual football game between the two schools was added in the 1990s; unlike most in-state rivalry games that end the regular season for both teams, the UK-U of L football game is the season opener for both.
- Kentucky-Indiana, men's basketball
- A historic "border war" between two of the sport's giants.
- Kentucky-Florida, men's basketball
- This has become a major rivalry in recent years with the rise of the Florida basketball program under Billy Donovan, a former UK assistant under Pitino.
- Tennessee-UConn, women's basketball
- 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.