October 10, 2003

Sports Writers Unveil SEC "Dream Team"

A panel of 15 journalists who cover SEC have collaborated on an article picking the "dream" line up of 12 SEC teams in a 'revised' SEC. 21 schools received votes from the sports writers. Here's a look at their "dream" conference in the Southeast:

According to the sportswriters, Vandy and South Carolina would have to find a new conference home if the "dream" conference could be created.

Posted by Kevin Donahue

Trackback

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.fanblogs.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/459

You can use this specified URL in a weblogging program that supports pinging, such as Movable Type. If your blog software does not support Trackback, click here to send a manual ping.

Comments & Trackbacks

1. Dave says:

   posted on October 10, 2003 08:11 AM — link

   Seems a little unbalanced to me. And I'd get rid of Kentucky instead of South Carolina.

   I'd love to see the conference shaken up a bit though. Vandy needs to go, no question there. It's not likely that we'd pick up any of the teams listed above, but there are other teams we could probably get. Southern Miss, for instance. We could also appeal to a few schools in Texas-- TCU and Texas Tech come to mind.

2. Matty Allen says:

   posted on October 10, 2003 08:19 AM — link

   I agree. Vandy is good for academics, but their football team is pathetic. Like Dave said, why get rid of South Carolina? They usually field a competitive game, and their fans may be the most devoted in the conference.

   Bring Auburn to the East, and invite someone like Missouri or Texas Tech to the West. I know Missouri isn't technically in the southeast, but it's just above Arkansas, so it might fly.

   But, yes, the SEC does need some kind of a shakeup, even if it is a small one.

3. Mike Boone says:

   posted on October 10, 2003 09:34 AM — link

   Why not drop Kentucky and South Carolina and add Clemson?

4. Kevin says:

   posted on October 10, 2003 10:47 AM — link

   I think the writers were looking at the entire scope of the SEC, not just football. As far as KY goes, I think you would be hard pressed to replace them across the board with the men's & women's basketball programs and their baseball/softball programs. KY may not be the most successful SEC team, but they are certainly competetive in almost all their games. In fact, I think I'd rather see an addition in KY by adding Louisville to the mix.

   According to the report, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Clemson, Texas, Texas A&M, Louisville, Miami, Virginia Tech, and Tulane also received votes - just not enough to include them in the "dream" conference.

5. Pete Holiday says:

   posted on October 10, 2003 10:49 AM — link

   Let's keep in mind that the SEC plays more than just football -- Vandy fields competitive teams in damn near every other sport and while football wouldn't suffer to lose them, I don't think it'd be good for the conference in general.

6. Jeff says:

   posted on October 10, 2003 03:07 PM — link

   GT's prior stint in the SEC and the rivalries both GT and FSU have with in-state SEC schools probably weighs into it a bit as well.

7. Randy H. says:

   posted on October 10, 2003 06:20 PM — link

   I can't believe that MSU made the cut considering how bad they've been this year. SC isn't that bad, but they're not a good fit for the SEC.

   Another victory this weekend is needed to get them back on track. With a win over Memphis, 3-9 is definitely within reach. Down with Joe Lee Dunn! Go Bulldogs!

8. jmo says:

   posted on October 11, 2003 10:23 PM — link

   please south carolina over kentucky and ga tech any day

9. Derek says:

   posted on October 12, 2003 06:40 PM — link

   You pretty much can't have Ole Miss in the league without Mississippi State, so even though MSU has stunk up the joint lately, splitting them is a non-starter, I'd imagine. Sure, having Florida State in the SEC would be great for football, but in terms of a well-rounded league, Kentucky's value in basketball alone is worth having them in the conference. And I'd take South Carolina over Ga. Tech, too.

10. Pete Holiday says:

    posted on October 12, 2003 08:19 PM — link

    Ole Miss/MSU is much the same, in my mind anyway, as UGA/Ga Tech... seemingly can't have one without the other... but it happens. MSU does stink in football this year, but they usually bring a quality baseball program, which is worth keeping them around for I think.

11. Randy H. says:

    posted on October 12, 2003 08:57 PM — link

    I have no doubt that MSU should be in- I'm just surprised that the sports writers didn't pick on them this year.

    Those that remember the days of Smoot and the great MSU program of a few years ago will understand where I'm coming from. Go Bulldogs.

12. Justin Brady says:

    posted on October 20, 2003 12:06 AM — link

    As far as Miss State goes.....The Ole Miss and Miss State game (egg bowl) is probably the biggest rivalry game in the SEC. There are a bunch of good rivalry's in the SEC and one could argue against what I just said, but when you look at the money and attention the game brings to each school and the SEC, you'd be hard pressed to find a bigger rivalry on those terms (in the SEC). As long as I can remember, ESPN (or ESPN2) has carried this game every year. Even when both teams have losing seasons, it's still a big deal. If Miss state is 1-9 coming into the game this year, beating Ole Miss would make the season worthwhile. Pretty sad, but it's happened many years before (for both teams).

    In my opinion, I could only see Vandy, Kentucky, SC, Georgia, or Tennessee actually leaving the SEC. I know, Georgia (and Tennessee) may come as a shocker....but think about it.....these 2 teams going to another conference could be beneficial to their schools.

    Strangely (or maybe not so), I chose all the teams from the East but florida. The East just doesn't seem as competitive as the West. There is usually only 1 (maybe 2 every few years) team(s) that shine(s) from that division. Last year, on the last week of the football season, there could have been 3 possible winners of the West division, depending on who won what game. It just happened to fall Arkansas's way. Just as the writers in the article found out, the West just doesn't need to be changed. The East leaves something to be desired.

13. Kevin says:

    posted on October 20, 2003 12:14 PM — link

    The Ole Miss and Miss State game (egg bowl) is probably the biggest rivalry game in the SEC.

    Huh? What? Pass that over here and let me hit it, Justin.

    Florida - Georgia and Auburn - Alabama are some pretty intense rivalries. Auburn-Alabama might be the most heated. Ole Miss-Miss State is definitely an NCAA classic matchup, but I don't know if I'd second your suggestion that it's the biggest rivalry in the SEC.

    We just have to agree to disagree, and you're still OK by me, sir.

14. Pete Holiday says:

    posted on October 20, 2003 12:52 PM — link

    As long as I can remember, ESPN (or ESPN2) has carried this game every year.

    This is because CBS won't. CBS has priority on conference games and passes over the Egg Bowl.

    Big rivalry? Yes. Bigger than "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" or the Iron Bowl? Maybe... in Mississippi.

15. Mike Boone says:

    posted on October 20, 2003 12:53 PM — link

    And certainly the Egg Bowl has had none of the suspense that these other rivalries have enjoyed lately.

16. Randy H. says:

    posted on October 20, 2003 02:16 PM — link

    I'm a huge fan of the Egg Bowl, but I'll also admit that the game doesn't really matter too much most of the time. Even when MSU was great a few years back, Mississippi was not very good at all. It seems like MSU and Mississippi are never very good in the same year. Which, as an MSU fan, is fine with me.