SEC could lose clout as powerbroker
Conference risks missing games against Texas, OU
HOOVER, Ala. – The SEC flexed its muscle as much as ever last summer, after the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced in August that they would not play a fall football season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eyeballs throughout college athletics shifted to the SEC. If the country's most powerful conference joined the Big Ten and Pac-12 in sitting out the fall, other conferences would have followed suit, and a fall season would not have happened.
The SEC delayed making a call on the season before ultimately deciding to play in the fall. Other conferences followed the SEC'S lead, and the Big Ten and Pac-12 reversed course to play in the fall after all.
It reminded us of the power the SEC wields by sitting at the head of college athletics' table.
If we're indeed headed for another round of conference expansion or realignment, how the SEC acts will determine whether it maintains its place.
Texas and Oklahoma reportedly have expressed interest in joining the SEC, which would create a 16-team mega-conference. Those schools are the Big 12's most valuable chips. Their addition would give the SEC more might, ensuring the conference would continue to swing the biggest sword.
And having that standing could become as important as ever, as college athletics prepares for a potential transition into a very different era.
NCAA President Mark Emmert, in an interview earlier this month, proposed a smaller governance role for the NCAA. In such a landscape, conferences would gain more decision-making power.
“I was pleased by President Emmert's call to reconsider the responsibilities of the national office,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said Monday.
No kidding Sankey was pleased. It opens the door for the SEC to grab more control.
When considering conference realignment, it's fun to think about potential matchups, division alignment, old rivalries renewing and new traditions forming.
But that's not why realignment happens.
Realignment is about money and power.
Does the SEC need Texas and Oklahoma?
In the current landscape, probably not.
Adding them would make the conference even stronger, and the college football season would be a thrilling gantlet.
But the SEC probably doesn't need those two schools now. And yet, it must prepare for a college athletics future that might look very differently.
For the SEC to extend an invitation to a prospective member, at least 11 of the 14 conference members would need to vote in favor of invitation.
What happens if the SEC passes on adding Texas and Oklahoma?
Perhaps they'll stay put. It wouldn't be the first time. Eleven years ago, the Longhorns and Sooners flirted with the idea of joining what was then the Pac-10 but decided to remain in the Big 12. Nonetheless, I wouldn't bet on that repeating.
If the SEC passes on expansion, Texas and Oklahoma could shop themselves to, say, the ACC or the Big Ten or some other mega-conference conglomerate.
And that prospect ought to concern the SEC.
If Texas and OU bolt the Big 12, expect more realignment to follow. The remaining Big 12 schools could get swallowed up by other conferences, with an additional mega-conference or two forming.
Regardless of how that possible realignment shook out, with Texas and Oklahoma part of the SEC'S posse, no one could dispute the conference's place as the sheriff in college athletics' town.
If you're going to dine from a table with a head chair, best to make sure you're sitting in that seat. Adding Texas and Oklahoma would secure the SEC'S place in the power position into the future.
Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC Columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at Btoppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.