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)
- University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) (1932)
- 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)
Under SEC conference rules reflecting the large number of (male) scholarship participants in football and attempting to address gender equity concerns ( see also Title IX ), each member institution is required to provide two more women's varsity sports than men's. The equivalent rule was recently adopted by the NCAA for all of Division I.
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):
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RivalryNameTrophy Alabama-TennesseeThe Third Saturday in October Arkansas-LSUThe Battle for the Golden BootThe Golden Boot Auburn-AlabamaThe Iron Bowl Auburn-GeorgiaThe Deep South's Oldest Rivalry Florida-Tennessee Florida-Florida State Florida-MiamiThe War Canoe Florida-GeorgiaThe World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party 1 Georgia-Georgia TechClean, Old Fashioned Hate Kentucky-Indiana
2 Kentucky-LouisvilleThe Governor's Cup LSU-TulaneThe Battle for the RagThe Rag Mississippi State-Ole MissThe Egg BowlThe Golden Egg Trophy South Carolina-Clemson Tennessee-Kentucky3 Tennessee-Vanderbilt- 1 Played in Jacksonville.
- 2 For decades the trophy of this game was a red, white, and blue bourbon barrel, but this practice was discontinued in 1999 following a DUI accident that killed two Kentucky football players.
- 3 For 74 years the trophy of this game was an orange, white, and blue beer keg, but this practice was discontinued in 1999 following the aforementioned DUI accident.
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 (although he was not hired directly from UK). 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.
National Championships
| Football: 1951 - Tennessee |
Men's Basketball: 1948 - Kentucky |
Baseball: 1990 - Georgia |
Women's Soccer: 1998 - Florida |
| Men's Indoor Track & Field: 1993 - Arkansas |
Women's Indoor Track & Field: 1987 - LSU |
Men's Outdoor Track & Field: 1933 - LSU |
Women's Outdoor Track & Field: 1987 - LSU |
| Men's Cross Country: 1972 - Tennessee |
Men's Swimming & Diving: 1978 - Tennessee |
Men's Tennis: 1985 - Georgia | |
| Men's Golf: 1940 - LSU |
Women's Gymnastics: 1987 - Georgia |
External Links
| Full members |
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| Championships and awards | ||
| Media | ||
| Former media outlets |
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| Related articles | ||