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Notes, Quotes and Slants
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Pirate
Notebook No. 128
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist |
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SEC chief Slive should up the
ante
©2003 Bonesville.net
Now that Atlantic Coast Conference boss John Swofford
has pulled a pair of Jokers
from the deck, the Southeastern Conference would be shrewd to raise the
stakes on its rival league.
In the go-for-broke game of college football poker, SEC
commissioner Mike Slive is the type of straight-faced shark who could dwarf
the ACC's expansion gamble with a flea-flicker of his own.
Multiple media outlets are reporting that ACC presidents
have voted to extend invitations to Big East football kingpins Miami and
Virginia Tech — apparently deciding under last-minute duress to stick with
their geographic roots and shun northeastern schools Boston College and
Syracuse.
But the dotted lines have yet to be signed and — if he takes
a notion — its Slive's
move.
All the former Conference USA chief has to do to fill out
his hand full of aces is to take the Hokies off the ACC's hands, then march
into the middle of the ACC's Holy Land and grab East Carolina.
Including West Virginia and Louisville in a grand-slam
package deal would push the SEC to an even 16, further accentuating its
super conference status.
But would it work?
It's an appropriate question considering the roadblocks
Swofford has encountered during his lengthy excursions along I-95. That goes
without mentioning the Western Athletic Conference's failed experiment with
a 16-team coalition in the 90s.
In retrospect, how could the WAC have hoped to survive given
the number of time zones represented and the lack of traditional rivalries
among its far-flung members?
A logically expanded SEC would be no WAC, that's for sure.
Furthermore, the concept likely would allow the SEC chiefs to avoid the
legal speed bumps, political arm-twisting and nightmarish travel issues that
almost gave UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser a bleeding ulcer.
The SEC, much like the ACC, historically has been a league
defined by its intimacy and concentrated geographic boundaries. Virginia
Tech, East Carolina, West Virginia, and Louisville wouldn't compromise that
tradition, instead adding strong threads to an already healthy football
culture.
Sure, the knee-jerk reaction might be to question the four
schools in discussion, especially when you consider the redheaded stepchild
label each has been unfairly given by those in surrounding social circles.
Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Miami would seem more appropriate,
not only in terms of geography, but perception, too.
Aside from Miami, though, the SEC wouldn’t have a snowball’s
chance at landing that group, nor would the addition of any of those four
schools extend the league's TV viewing boundaries, which is one of the
primary reasons for expansion in the first place.
Virginia Tech makes perfect sense, considering the
super-power status it has earned on the gridiron in recent years, along with its presence in
the populous Commonwealth. The SEC has long coveted the North Carolina
market, and adding East Carolina would supercharge the league's following in
the state by supplementing the significant fanbase South Carolina already has in the Piedmont
and the west.
Morgantown is hardly an attractive market, but the
Mountaineers’ inclusion brings with it an entire state, not to mention a ton
of interest in the Steel City and western Maryland. Louisville doesn't offer
much that isn't already present for television, but the Cardinals, coupled
with the Wildcats, would give the league a Duke-Carolina caliber hoops
mega-rivalry in the Bluegrass State.
That in and of itself would spark new interest throughout
the southeast.
It initially would be difficult to sell most SEC schools on
such a radical idea, given the additional slices that would be cut from the
league’s revenue pie. That’s where Slive and his aids must think outside the
box and carefully research methods in which it can monetarily justify
expansive growth.
The SEC already owns the nation’s most lucrative television
package, with partners at both the regional – Jefferson Pilot and Fox Sports
South – and national – CBS and ESPN – levels. With two eight-team divisions,
the SEC could take a revolutionary approach when negotiating its next TV
pact.
One idea would be to use a formula the NFL has proven a
winner by selling the SEC as two separate entities. CBS, for example, which
has a contract with the league that runs through 2008-09, could become the
home for the SEC East. Weekly SEC West showdowns could belong to another
major network, perhaps Fox or NBC.
That scenario would maximize the league’s cash potential,
but it wouldn’t be taken seriously by network suits unless the SEC offered
two divisions of eight teams each.
Regionally, the SEC might pursue a Saturday double-header –
one game per division -- with Jefferson Pilot televising matchups at noon
and four o’clock.
Another method for creating revenues and exposure would be
the freedom for individual schools to negotiate additional TV contracts,
with a modest percentage going to the league’s piggy bank for later
distribution.
A 16-team allegiance also would kindle interest from
additional bowls. Currently, seven of the league’s members land holiday
vacations. Adding four schools with strong reputations for fans traveling en
masse could increase the SEC’s guaranteed bowl tie-ins by at least two.
There’s another $2-plus million for the pot.
Once all the financial bases are covered, divisional
alignment and scheduling would move atop the agenda, and this is where a few
schools, much like we’ve seen in the ACC, could slam the brakes. Preserving
rivalries and balanced scales will be of utmost importance.
Florida and Georgia are inseparable, as are Auburn and
Alabama and Mississippi and Mississippi State. Tennessee-Kentucky, on the
other hand, is a great rivalry, but rarely is that border battle accompanied
by do-or-die stakes.
Shifting Kentucky to the West might make the most sense,
accompanied by rival Louisville. East Carolina, Virginia Tech, and West
Virginia would fit nicely in the East.
Tennessee-Kentucky and Auburn-Georgia, both of which are
grass roots rivalries, still can be scheduled on an annual basis.
Scheduling, both in football and basketball, also could
induce a few headaches, but there are several potential solutions.
Considering most schools prefer a minimum of three
non-conference games to maximize exposure, perhaps only divisional games
would count toward the league record. That wouldn’t prohibit Kentucky from
scheduling its annual woodshed beating by the Vols, but it would gracefully
keep that blemish from the ‘Cats' conference football count.
When push comes to shove, bragging rights are the intangible
that historically has driven the success and appeal of the SEC.
Though it may be crazy at first glance, the additions of
East Carolina, Louisville, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia doesn’t
jeopardize those deeply rooted, die-hard emotions that are a testament to
the SEC’s uniqueness.
There’s no denying, the idea is bizarre.
So bizarre that it just might work.
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02/23/2007 01:52:52 AM |
