SEC donates to Summitt’s foundation
The Southeastern Conference is expected to disclose proposals today for a four-team college football playoff and for its league scheduling format for the 2013 season and beyond, and the staggering annual revenue sharing figures will be revealed as well.
Thursday, however, was all about giving.
The league and its 14 institutions announced a $ 100,000 donation to the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund to aid in its fight against Alzheimer’s. Summitt retired as Tennessee’s women’s basketball coach in April because of her early-onset dementia.
“Coach Summitt is an integral part of the Southeastern Conference’s history,” league commissioner Mike Slive said, “and we will be forever grateful for her many contributions to this league and to college basketball.”
Summitt led the Lady Vols to eight national titles and 18 Final Four trips, and Tennessee won the SEC regular season, the league tournament or both in 22 of her last 25 seasons.
The purpose of the fund is to provide education and awareness of Alzheimer’s, as well as support services to patients, their families and caretakers. In addition
to the financial contribution, SEC women’s coaches will continue a “We Back Pat Week” each January.
As for today’s proposals, Florida president Bernie Machen said Thursday that he expects the league to maintain the 61-1 scheduling model that was put in place for the 2012 season. Such a model protects the longstanding cross-divisional matchups of Alabama-Tennessee and Auburn-Georgia.
Machen also said the league will not compromise its belief that a playoff should consist of the nation’s four highestranked teams, whether they are conference champions or not.
Delayed tube talk
The SEC announced its early television schedule during last year’s spring meetings, but associate commissioner Charles Bloom said Thursday that was unlikely this time around.
Kickoff times for openers such as Vanderbilt-South Carolina, Tennessee- N.C. State, Alabama-Michigan and Auburn-Clemson have been announced, but the Sept. 8 lineup remains unknown. That’s when Missouri and Texas A&M delve into their new league by hosting Georgia and Florida.
CBS begins its coverage schedule on Sept. 15 and is expected to take AlabamaArkansas, which would leave the Florida-Tennessee game to ESPN. The matchup between the Gators and Vols is the only league game CBS has televised every year since becoming the primary broadcaster of SEC contests in 1996.
Scratch that, please
The proposed homeandhome football series between Georgia and Ohio State during the 2020-21 seasons has been canceled due to Ohio State being unable to assign dates to the games.
There was never an official agreement, but the two schools comprised a memorandum of understanding in December 2010. The Bulldogs and Buckeyes have met once, with Georgia winning 21-14 in the Capital One Bowl (formerly the Citrus) after the 1992 season.