If the SEC were to get rid of a team, it would probably be Arkansas. They're among the newest in the conference, and unlike USC, have yet to deserve their place there. They ran off the one reason their football program was any good in an effort to take a head coach that only proved himself with the second rate Kentucky school at Louisville. Who would we take in place of Arkansas? I'd like to see Texas.
Texas would never join the SEC. Petrino's Louisville team was a damn good one - now they are second rate, but whe BP was coaching, they were a top tier team...especially on offense. Arkansas won't be a BCS team, but they can certainly prove they belong in the SEC under Petrino - they now have to young talent to win 7 to 8 games for a while.
Agreed. Texas is one of the cornerstones of the Big 12 along with Oklahoma and Nebraska. Never leaving. Vandy would be the most likely choice if the SEC ever did look to get rid of a team. They have been the ugly stepchild of the league for years. Yet they are also the best academic institution in the league and this improves the image of the league as a whole. As Mr. E said their sports teams have improved over the last 5 years. For them to finish ahead of Tenn in the SEC is unheard of. Their new coach is excellent. Yet the decade(s) prior to that they were downright pitiful. If it ever came down to it, they'd probably be the most likely school to go.
I just can't buy Vandy being kicked out. Not with their academics. They're APR score (969) puts them in the Top 2 in the SEC. The only school with a better Football APR in the SEC is Georgia (976). When it comes to other sports, Vandy is the top in every sport but Womens BBall. Arkansas is one of the bottom 2 in the SEC... Ark. Football scored an APR of 927. Only school lower was Ole Miss at 910 (South Carolina was 929). Arkansas MBB posted the lowest score in the SEC at a horrid 888.... putting them on national notice. If they don't improve, they'll lose scholly's.
Texas being in the SEC makes even less sense than Arkansas. Ole miss is the closest school to Arkansas, in the SEC, and they're still 6 hours away from them. Most SEC schools have to travel well over 7 hours. Gamecocks gotta go at least 12, UF has to go 15. I still think Clemson is the best fit for the SEC. Academically they're strong, fan base is one of the best in football..And LSU and Ole miss are probably the two longest road trips in the conference for them..both being under 10 hours. I have to imagine they can travel pretty damn well to most games. They're natural rivals with USC... UGA is already contracted to games with Clemson to renew that rivalry, I think it just makes sense.
I was thinking Rutgers was pretty high up there in academic matters. And I think WVU fans would have a sh*t fit if they couldn't play Pitt on a yearly basis... it was a real blow to them to quit playing Penn State. We even had a joke for it in high school: How do you keep a Mountaineer from masturbating? Write Penn State on his penis and he won't beat it for decades.
We lost 3 scholarships cause of the Orgeron years and academics. That score also takes into account recruits who don't make it with grades. Honestly, I wish there was a way the SEC could invite teams to be in for a year, honorary. That would put a lot of people's SEC hating to rest. If USC, Texas, Penn State, any of them had (or got) to play an SEC schedule, you'd see an entirely different perception of those teams by the end of the year. USC comes in to play Arky, but they don't have the balls to go to Athens, Auburn, Knoxville, Tuscaloosa, or even Oxford.
I hear ya on Vandy. The academics are undoubtedly a huge factor working in their favor. The players are all supposed to be student athletes and at a school like vandy they live up to it. Yet one thing to keep in mind is that these conferences are huge money making corporations. The SEC is a business. Not sure the conference cares as much about the academics (vandy in this case) as they do in making money for the league. Also the SEC has always been notorious for academic integrity issues, scandals with grade fixing and shady boosters, etc. It does go on in every conference yet it's legendary down south. I'm not trying to paint every school with that brush. However I'm not so sure the powers-to-be who run the SEC and vote care as much about the academics as they do the huge profits they're making. They're happy to have a prestigious school like vandy in the conference but they care more about who the best teams are and who can make the most money for the league. Also they probably have the smallest fanbase of any team in the league. Fans = ticket sales, more money. I agree with you on Clemson. 90K fans in Death Valley would be a great fit for the SEC and I'm sure the league loves the $$ that it represents.
They'd beat the hell out of all of those teams...especially Ole Miss. It's stupid for them to play east coast teams too often. The travel costs are ridiculous. They are playing at Notre Dame and at Ohio State in 2009 - they will destroy both teams.
