Why the SEC is already a super conference. It doesn’t need anybody else | Adams

The issues and topics might vary from one year to the next at the SEC spring meetings, which will begin Tuesday in Destin, Florida. But there has been a recurring theme.

The SEC believes it’s the best sports conference in the country. And its commissioner invariably reminds the conference members of that in subtle or not-so-subtle oratory before the meetings are adjourned.

That same message was sent even when the SEC wasn’t the nation’s premier conference. Now that the SEC has become so strong in so many sports, reminders hardly seem necessary.

The addition of Texas and Oklahoma this year will make a powerhouse conference only more powerful. Those programs should feel comfortable in a league that promotes itself with the slogan: “The SEC just means more.”

It’s not as though the Longhorns and Sooners needed an ego boost. Never mind that Texas last won a football national championship in 2005 or that the Sooners haven’t reigned supreme in football since Tennessee coach Josh Heupel was their quarterback. Neither program has ever suffered from a lack of self-esteem.

Texas often dominated the old Southwest Conference. Oklahoma was rarely challenged in the Big Eight − which eventually expanded into the Big 12 − except when Nebraska’s dynasty sometimes shoved it into second place.

The Longhorns and Sooners won’t just bolster the SEC’s football presence. They will strengthen the conference in multiple sports. That’s significant since the league no longer aspires to be the best only in the sport that matters most. It wants to be the best in everything.

SEC baseball is already dominant on the national level. Oklahoma and Texas will help make it just as dominant in softball.

There’s so much uncertainty in college sports right now. In fact, college football essentially has become pro football. Basketball…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-sec-already-super-conference-091509222.html

Author : Knox News | The Knoxville News-Sentinel

Publish date : 2024-05-28 09:15:09

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