The SEC spring meetings, which begin this week, always bring out the constructive critic in me.
Today’s target: the SEC football schedule.
The SEC could improve its method of determining division champions.
That would mean putting an end to non-divisional rivalries on an annual basis.
Translation: Tennessee and Alabama wouldn’t play every year. Neither would Georgia and Auburn.
Traditionalists might cringe at the thought. But the SEC shoved tradition aside a long time ago when it went to divisional play. And rivalries that affect four teams shouldn’t rule the day in a 12-team conference.
LSU and Florida also play every year, but do you think their fans would withdraw into a catatonic state if the teams played every two years? As strong as those programs are, they probably would prefer not playing every season.
My scheduling plan would favor fairness over tradition and would involve seeding of sorts.
There’s a fairly clear-cut line separating the top three teams from the bottom three teams in each division. Although that could change from year-to-year, you can count on Auburn, Alabama and LSU being the most consistently successful programs in the West. You could say the same for Florida, Georgia and UT in the East.
scrippnews.com
5/26/08
