6. WHAT IF THE SEC EXPANDS?: When the Big Ten threw out the idea of expanding by five teams to form a 16-team mega-conference, SEC commissioner Mike Slive made it perfectly clear the SEC would not sit on the sidelines and watch. While the SEC isn’t actively seeking to expand, Slive has plans in place if another conference forces his hand. So what if the SEC were to expand by four teams? Who would be the prime candidates? Tony Barnhart blogged in the Atlanta Journal Constitution that SEC expansion would make most sense by adding Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami and Florida State. I think that would create very difficult choices in terms of aligning the divisions and I’m not sure that those four schools from the ACC would add that much to the league other than football and baseball and from a facilities standpoint, none of them would rank in the top half of the SEC. Also, I can’t see that it would add that much to the SEC in terms of television revenue.
7. WHAT IT THE SEC EXPANDS, PART II: If the SEC were to expand, the move that would make the most sense to me would be to bring in Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State because you would add the second largest state in terms of population along with the fifth (Dallas-Fort Worth) and tenth (Houston) television markets. All four of those schools have terrific facilities, great football (Oklahoma and Texas have 11 national championships between them) and championship pedigrees in sports other than football. In a 16-team SEC, the West would be Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The East would be Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Kentucky. That’s a 16-team power conference that makes a lot of sense to me.
8. AND WHAT IF ARKANSAS BOLTS TO THE BIG 12?: Although that doesn’t seem like a real possibility given the SEC’s mega bucks television deal, you know that Arkansas would be the first option for the Big 12 if Missouri and/or Nebraska were part of an expanded Big Ten. If somehow Arkansas bolts and there is only one slot to be filled in the SEC, my vote would be to add Louisville. The Cardinals have facilities for all sports that would rank in the top half of the SEC (newly expanded Papa John’s Stadium will seat 65,000 this fall and the new Freedom Hall is a $238 million gem) and they would field competitive teams in nearly every sport. I know Kentucky wouldn’t like having Louisville in the same league, but it’s a move that makes perfect sense.
