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 Appalachian Mountains left to form their own conference. Ten of the thirteen charter members have remained in the conference since its inception: the universities of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; and Auburn, Louisiana State, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt universities. 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 of today's Conference USA, competing there 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 Conference throughout its history until it merged with the Great Midwest Conference to form Conference USA in 1995. Tulane remained an independent in football until the formation of C-USA.
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)
East Division
West Division
SEC East
SEC West
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 Arkansas, MSU, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt)
- Women's Swimming and Diving (except MSU, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt)
- Men's Tennis
- Women's Tennis
- Men's Golf
- Women's Golf
- Women's 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.
Conference Stadia
| School |
Football stadium |
Stadium capacity |
Basketball arena |
Arena capacity |
| Alabama |
Bryant-Denny Stadium |
83,818 |
Coleman Coliseum |
15,043 |
| Auburn |
Jordan-Hare Stadium |
87,451 |
Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum |
10,500 |
| Arkansas |
Razorback Stadium (primary)
War Memorial Stadium (secondary) |
72,000
53,727 |
Bud Walton Arena |
19,200 |
| Florida |
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium |
90,716 |
Stephen C. O'Connell Center |
12,000 |
| Georgia |
Sanford Stadium |
92,746 |
Stegeman Coliseum |
11,000 |
| Kentucky |
Commonwealth Stadium |
67,606 |
Rupp Arena (men)
Memorial Coliseum (women) |
23,000
8,500 |
| LSU |
Tiger Stadium |
92,400 |
Pete Maravich Assembly Center |
14,164 |
| Ole Miss |
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium |
60,580 |
Tad Smith Coliseum |
8,700 |
| Mississippi State |
Scott Field |
55,082 |
Humphrey Coliseum |
10,500 |
| South Carolina |
Williams-Brice Stadium |
80,250 |
Colonial Center |
18,000 |
| Tennessee |
Neyland Stadium |
104,079 |
Thompson-Boling Arena |
24,535 |
| Vanderbilt |
Vanderbilt Stadium |
41,203 |
Memorial Gymnasium |
14,168 |
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):
- 1 Played in Jacksonville. Now officially referred to as the "Florida-Georgia/Georgia-Florida Game" due to sensitivity about consumption of alcohol by college students.
- 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.
Each school has a permanent rival from the other division which it plays each year in football (though this may or may not reflect a traditional rivalry). Each East Division school's permanent rival from the West Division:
- Florida--LSU
- Georgia--Auburn
- Kentucky--Mississippi State
- South Carolina--Arkansas
- Tennessee--Alabama
- Vanderbilt--Ole Miss
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. The recent moves by Arkansas to rejoin Kentucky as a national powerhouse once again could make this rivalry as intense as the mid-'90s.
- This has become a major rivalry in recent years with the rise of the Florida basketball program under 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 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 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.
- Mississippi State-Alabama
- Not only are these two schools are 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
- 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.
- Alabama-Georgia, women's gymnastics
- 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.
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.
- Prior to 1932, the University of Alabama claimed national titles in football in 1925, 1926, and 1930.
- Prior to joining the SEC in 1992, the University of Arkansas claimed the 1964 football championship, nine titles in Men's Indoor Track, three in Men's Outdoor Track, and five in Men's Cross Country.
- Prior to 1932, former member Georgia Tech claimed football national titles in 1917 and 1928. Tech also won the 1952 title in football. The team defeated fellow SEC member Mississippi in the Sugar Bowl and finished with a record of 12-0. This came a year after Tennessee claimed its first unanimous national title in 1951, although it was also voted national champion by multiple polling services in 1938 and 1940.
- Up to 1982, teams representing member schools also claimed three AIAW Championships
Football* (18):
1934 - Alabama
1941 - Alabama
1942 - Georgia
1946 - Georgia
1951 - Tennessee
1952 - Georgia Tech
1957 - Auburn
1958 - LSU
1960 - Ole Miss
1961 - Alabama
1964 - Alabama
1965 - Alabama
1973 - Alabama
1978 - Alabama
1979 - Alabama
1980 - Georgia
1992 - Alabama
1996 - Florida
1998 - Tennessee
2003 - LSU
|
Men's Basketball (8):
1948 - Kentucky
1949 - Kentucky
1951 - Kentucky
1958 - Kentucky
1978 - Kentucky
1994 - Arkansas
1996 - Kentucky
1998 - Kentucky
Women's Basketball (6):
1987 - Tennessee
1989 - Tennessee
1991 - Tennessee
1996 - Tennessee
1997 - Tennessee
1998 - Tennessee
|
Baseball (6):
1990 - Georgia
1991 - LSU
1993 - LSU
1996 - LSU
1997 - LSU
2000 - LSU
|
Women's Soccer (1):
1998 - Florida
|
Men's Indoor Track & Field (12):
1993 - Arkansas
1994 - Arkansas
1995 - Arkansas
1997 - Arkansas
1998 - Arkansas
1999 - Arkansas
2000 - Arkansas
2001 - LSU
2002 - Tennessee
2003 - Arkansas
2004 - LSU
2005 - Arkansas
|
Women's Indoor Track & Field (13):
1987 - LSU
1989 - LSU
1991 - LSU
1992 - Florida
1993 - LSU
1994 - LSU
1995 - LSU
1996 - LSU
1997 - LSU
2002 - LSU
2003 - LSU
2004 - LSU
2005 - Tennessee
|
Men's Outdoor Track & Field (16):
1933 - LSU
1974 - Tennessee
1989 - LSU
1990 - LSU
1991 - Tennessee
1993 - Arkansas
1994 - Arkansas
1995 - Arkansas
1996 - Arkansas
1997 - Arkansas
1998 - Arkansas
1999 - Arkansas
2001 - Tennessee
2002 - LSU
2003 - Arkansas
2004 - Arkansas
2005 - Arkansas
|
Women's Outdoor Track & Field (14):
1987 - LSU
1988 - LSU
1989 - LSU
1990 - LSU
1991 - LSU
1992 - LSU
1993 - LSU
1994 - LSU
1995 - LSU
1996 - LSU
1997 - LSU
2000 - LSU
2002 - South Carolina
2003 - LSU
|
Men's Cross Country (7):
1972 - Tennessee
1992 - Arkansas
1993 - Arkansas
1995 - Arkansas
1998 - Arkansas
1999 - Arkansas
2000 - Arkansas
Women's Cross Country (1):
1988 - Kentucky
|
Men's Swimming & Diving (8):
1978 - Tennessee
1983 - Florida
1984 - Florida
1997 - Auburn
1999 - Auburn
2003 - Auburn
2004 - Auburn
2005 - Auburn
Women's Swimming & Diving (8):
1982 - Florida
1999 - Georgia
2000 - Georgia
2001 - Georgia
2002 - Auburn
2003 - Auburn
2004 - Auburn
2005 - Georgia
|
Men's Tennis (3):
1985 - Georgia
1987 - Georgia
2001 - Georgia
Women's Tennis (6):
1992 - Florida
1994 - Georgia
1996 - Florida
1998 - Florida
2000 - Georgia
2003 - Florida
|
Men's Golf (10):
1940 - LSU
1942 - LSU
1947 - LSU
1955 - LSU
1968 - Florida
1973 - Florida
1993 - Florida
1999 - Georgia
2001 - Florida
2005 - Georgia
Women's Golf (3):
1995 - Florida
1996 - Florida
2001 - Georgia
|
Women's Gymnastics (10):
1987 - Georgia
1988 - Alabama
1989 - Georgia
1991 - Alabama
1993 - Georgia
1996 - Alabama
1998 - Georgia
1999 - Georgia
2002 - Alabama
2005 - Georgia
|
By teams
| School |
FB |
MBB |
WBB |
BB |
So |
MITF |
WITF |
MOTF |
WOTF |
MCC |
WCC |
MSD |
WSD |
MT |
WT |
MG |
WG |
Gym |
Total |
| UF |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
2 |
1 |
|
4 |
4 |
2 |
|
17 |
| UGA |
2 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
21 |
| UK |
|
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
8 |
| USC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
| UT |
2 |
|
6 |
|
|
1 |
1 |
3 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
15 |
| VU |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
| Ala |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
13 |
| Ark |
|
1 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
21 |
|
14 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
47 |
| AU |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
9 |
| LSU |
2 |
|
|
5 |
|
2 |
11 |
4 |
13 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
41 |
| OM |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
| MSU |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
| Totals |
18 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
12 |
13 |
16 |
14 |
7 |
1 |
8 |
8 |
3 |
6 |
10 |
3 |
10 |
150 |
*The NCAA does not recognize a National Champion for Division I-A football. The listing represents championships awarded by a variety of other organizations.
See also
External links