The Start of Another SEC Joyride
posted by Scott Hood on Monday, July 23, 2007
I was probably the only person in my neighborhood that cared enough to spend my Saturdays watching the games on TV. Boston College had a brief flurry with Doug Flutie in the early 1980’s but that soon faded away.
In fact, I liked college football so much that when I studied at UMass-Amherst from 1981-85, I actually attended most of the home games.
But make no mistake, Boston, just like every major city in the Northeast corridor extending south towards Washington D.C., is dominated by professional sports. New York City has nine pro franchises in the four major leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) located within a few miles of Manhattan.
Boston has four franchises, with the Red Sox dominating the city. In my college days, though, it was Larry Bird and the Celtics that captured the most headlines.
Unfortunately, the saturation of pro sports leaves little room in the mainstream media for things like college football. Harvard-Yale is marketed as “The Game” for the folks in New England. Yippee.
My decision to relocate to South Carolina in May of 1994 was made for two principal reasons: 1) warmer climate; and 2) better college football.
I also knew USC had joined the SEC a couple of years earlier.
I’m entering my 14th season of Gamecock football. I’ve watched the program struggle to escape the middle shelf of the conference with, up to now, little success. There have been a couple of highly successful seasons (2000-2001) here and there but mostly it’s been one .500 season after another.
Yet, I’m convinced of one thing: joining the SEC was the best decision ever made by the USC athletics department.
Why? First, USC is more compatible with the rest of the conference teams when it comes to the passion of the fans for college football. While I’m not privy to the exact reasons why USC left the ACC – I’ve heard countless theories over the years – I believe the SEC is a better fit in that regard for the Gamecocks. But the ACC is first and foremost a basketball league.
Second, joining the SEC has forced USC to take a more serious and business-like approach towards what it needed to accomplish to become competitive over the long-term. When you’re an independent, you’re basically competing against yourself.
Third, the money hasn’t been too bad, either. USC walked away from the recent league meetings with the highest school payout in the conference, $10.5 million. That’s more than what Florida received, and they won national championships in football and men’s basketball in 2006-2007.
As I’ve said before, the SEC is a hyper-competitive league. Most of the schools try to field nationally-ranked programs in every sport. It doesn’t matter which sport or gender. Most schools play to win all the time.
You can’t get lazy in the SEC or you’ll get run over.
USC wasn’t prepared to join the SEC in 1992 from a number of perspectives. The athletic facilities were inadequate and, having spoken with many people over the years on this issue, I believe the administration and fans underestimated the level of commitment required for success - psychologically and financially – in the SEC.
The expansion of Williams-Brice Stadium in 1996 was the first step. The construction of the Bluff Road practice fields, the Floyd Football Building adjacent to the north stands and the weightlifting facility and meeting rooms underneath the south stands continued the process.
Fifteen years later, USC is finally starting to act like it belongs in the SEC.
Here’s something to ponder: If USC weren’t part of the SEC would Steve Spurrier be the head football coach of the Gamecocks right now? I doubt it. In fact, one of the things that attracted the HBC to Columbia was the prospect facing teams like Georgia, Florida and Tennessee every year. He loves the SEC.
Here’s another question: Without the SEC affiliation, would USC have made nine appearances on national TV last season? No way.
In less than 48 hours, I will seated in the main ballroom of the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. for the start of SEC Football Media Days.
Over the ensuing three days, I will sit, literally, 10 feet away from some of the greatest names in the college football coaching circles today: Spurrier, Meyer, Richt, Fulmer, Saban, Tuberville, Miles, Nutt.
All those coaches in one 12-team league shows the remarkable competitive spirit than engulfs the SEC. None of those coaches would be at their respective schools if they thought they couldn’t compete. Great coaches seek out the programs in the top leagues. And there’s no denying the SEC is the best college football conference, top to bottom, in the nation.
Has it been a little painful for USC football fans over the years watching the Gamecocks fail time and again to knock off the so-called “Big Boys” of the SEC? Yes.
But when Spurrier leads the Gamecocks to that first elusive SEC championship (in his mind it’s not a question of “if”), all the agony getting there will seem worth it.
- Permalink, Discuss, Blog Home
For the first 31 years of my life I lived in a place where college football wasn’t very important.
I was probably the only person in my neighborhood that cared enough to spend my Saturdays watching the games on TV. Boston College had a brief flurry with Doug Flutie in the early 1980’s but that soon faded away.
In fact, I liked college football so much that when I studied at UMass-Amherst from 1981-85, I actually attended most of the home games.
But make no mistake, Boston, just like every major city in the Northeast corridor extending south towards Washington D.C., is dominated by professional sports. New York City has nine pro franchises in the four major leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) located within a few miles of Manhattan.
Boston has four franchises, with the Red Sox dominating the city. In my college days, though, it was Larry Bird and the Celtics that captured the most headlines.
Unfortunately, the saturation of pro sports leaves little room in the mainstream media for things like college football. Harvard-Yale is marketed as “The Game” for the folks in New England. Yippee.
My decision to relocate to South Carolina in May of 1994 was made for two principal reasons: 1) warmer climate; and 2) better college football.
I also knew USC had joined the SEC a couple of years earlier.
I’m entering my 14th season of Gamecock football. I’ve watched the program struggle to escape the middle shelf of the conference with, up to now, little success. There have been a couple of highly successful seasons (2000-2001) here and there but mostly it’s been one .500 season after another.
Yet, I’m convinced of one thing: joining the SEC was the best decision ever made by the USC athletics department.
Why? First, USC is more compatible with the rest of the conference teams when it comes to the passion of the fans for college football. While I’m not privy to the exact reasons why USC left the ACC – I’ve heard countless theories over the years – I believe the SEC is a better fit in that regard for the Gamecocks. But the ACC is first and foremost a basketball league.
Second, joining the SEC has forced USC to take a more serious and business-like approach towards what it needed to accomplish to become competitive over the long-term. When you’re an independent, you’re basically competing against yourself.
Third, the money hasn’t been too bad, either. USC walked away from the recent league meetings with the highest school payout in the conference, $10.5 million. That’s more than what Florida received, and they won national championships in football and men’s basketball in 2006-2007.
As I’ve said before, the SEC is a hyper-competitive league. Most of the schools try to field nationally-ranked programs in every sport. It doesn’t matter which sport or gender. Most schools play to win all the time.
You can’t get lazy in the SEC or you’ll get run over.
USC wasn’t prepared to join the SEC in 1992 from a number of perspectives. The athletic facilities were inadequate and, having spoken with many people over the years on this issue, I believe the administration and fans underestimated the level of commitment required for success - psychologically and financially – in the SEC.
The expansion of Williams-Brice Stadium in 1996 was the first step. The construction of the Bluff Road practice fields, the Floyd Football Building adjacent to the north stands and the weightlifting facility and meeting rooms underneath the south stands continued the process.
Fifteen years later, USC is finally starting to act like it belongs in the SEC.
Here’s something to ponder: If USC weren’t part of the SEC would Steve Spurrier be the head football coach of the Gamecocks right now? I doubt it. In fact, one of the things that attracted the HBC to Columbia was the prospect facing teams like Georgia, Florida and Tennessee every year. He loves the SEC.
Here’s another question: Without the SEC affiliation, would USC have made nine appearances on national TV last season? No way.
In less than 48 hours, I will seated in the main ballroom of the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. for the start of SEC Football Media Days.
Over the ensuing three days, I will sit, literally, 10 feet away from some of the greatest names in the college football coaching circles today: Spurrier, Meyer, Richt, Fulmer, Saban, Tuberville, Miles, Nutt.
All those coaches in one 12-team league shows the remarkable competitive spirit than engulfs the SEC. None of those coaches would be at their respective schools if they thought they couldn’t compete. Great coaches seek out the programs in the top leagues. And there’s no denying the SEC is the best college football conference, top to bottom, in the nation.
Has it been a little painful for USC football fans over the years watching the Gamecocks fail time and again to knock off the so-called “Big Boys” of the SEC? Yes.
But when Spurrier leads the Gamecocks to that first elusive SEC championship (in his mind it’s not a question of “if”), all the agony getting there will seem worth it.
- Permalink, Discuss, Blog Home
Previous Blog Entries
Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.