The SEC is home to some of the most prosperous schools in college football history. While Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn and Georgia have seemingly been mostly excellent for as long as the memory stretches, even the best programs have eras that stand above others.

We’re looking back through each team’s entire history. In the cases of Arkansas, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas A&M — the four most recent additions to the SEC — we’ll look back to their pre-SEC days.

Alabama — 1958-82

Coach: Paul “Bear” Bryant
Record: 232–46–9
National titles: 6
SEC titles: 13

Who could argue against Bryant’s tenure as the greatest reign in Alabama history? You could pick out any handful of years as the most prosperous run in school history, but to not look at the full picture for Bryant is to miss the picture. Nick Saban has won half as many titles as Bryant in a third of the time it took Bear, but Bryant made Alabama football what it is today.

Arkansas — 1959-65

Coach: Frank Broyles
Record: 60-16
National titles: 1
SWC titles: 5

While the Razorbacks weren’t SEC members yet, they won the only national title in school history under their greatest coach in 1964. Broyles went 144–58–5 in his career at Arkansas, but no period was as dominant as this seven-year run to end the 1950s and start the ’60s.

Auburn — 1982-90

Coach: Pat Dye
Record: 84-22-4
National titles: 0
SEC titles: 4

Auburn took off at the end of Bryant’s time at Alabama, beating up on the SEC for this stretch. Bo Jackson was the star of the era, dominating for the better part of his four years on campus (one marred by injury) and taking home a Heisman in the process. While the Tigers didn’t win a national title, they were guided by the most beloved coach in school history in Dye (who crushed Shug Jordan in our SEC Stars bracket). Auburn finished ranked in eight of nine seasons, including five times in the top 10.

Florida — 1990-2001

Coach: Steve Spurrier
Record: 122–27–1
National titles: 1
SEC titles: 6

In the 1990s, the Gators were synonymous with SEC football. Spurrier brought the Fun ‘N Gun offense to his alma mater, terrorizing the conference and repeatedly hanging half-century scores on opponents. During Spurrier’s tenure, the Gators won at least nine games every season, including six consecutive 10-win seasons (a national record) while producing a Heisman winner, Danny Wuerffel, to go along with a national title in 1996 and six SEC championships.

Georgia — 1980-83

Coach: Vince Dooley
Record: 43-4-1
National titles: 1
SEC titles: 3

Led by Herschel Walker, Georgia owned the SEC in the first four years of the 1980s. As a freshman, Walker powered the Bulldogs to a national title, and he only lost three games over the next two seasons. While Vince Dooley had a long, illustrious career at Georgia, no four-year stretch matched this one, with four straight 10-win seasons and top-10 poll finishes.

Kentucky — 1946-53

Coach: Bear Bryant
Record: 60–23–6
National titles: 0
SEC titles: 1

The Wildcats achieved a lot of firsts during this run: the first bowl appearance in school history, as well as the first bowl win, the school’s first SEC title and, in the final five years of this era, the first five ranked finishes in school history. No surprise, this era coincides with Bryant’s tenure in the Bluegrass State.

LSU — 2005-present

Coach: Les Miles
Record: 103-29
National titles: 1
SEC titles: 2

There are arguments to be made for Charles McLendon’s tenure as coach, as well as Nick Saban’s, as the greatest eras in LSU history. LSU has never been as consistently good as its been the last decade, with 10 straight bowl appearances and ranked finishes in eight of 10 years. Saban built the foundation for the Tigers’ current run, but Miles built a skyscraper on top of it.

Mississippi State — 2010-present

Coach: Dan Mullen
Record: 41-24
National titles: 0
SEC titles: 0

Mississippi State’s football history is marked mostly by brief spurts of excellent play surrounded by mediocrity or worse. That’s what makes the Bulldogs teams of the last five years so special. MSU is currently on its longest bowl appearance streak, making a bowl game in five straight seasons and posting five straight winning records. After making its first Orange Bowl in more than 60 years, Mississippi State has good reason to believe that success will continue into 2015, with Mullen and Dak Prescott back together for another run.

Missouri — 1939-42

Coach: Don Faurot
Record: 30-10-1
National titles: 0
MVIAA titles: 2

Playing in the Missouri Valley Interscholastic Athletic Association, Missouri’s stadium namesake’s first tenure was the most dominant in school history. The Tigers won two conference titles at the end of Faurot’s first run with the team, making an Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl in the process. Gary Pinkel’s teams have been consistently very good for 15 years, winning five division titles, but they’ve never been quite as strong as Faurot’s were during this era.

Ole Miss — 1952-70

Coach: John Vaught
Record: 153-42-10
National titles: 3
SEC titles: 5

For 19 years, the Rebels were one of the most feared teams in the nation. Led by stadium namesake John Vaught, Ole Miss won three national titles in a four-season stretch, including back-to-back championships in 1959-60, as well as five SEC championships. That run included two undefeated years and five Sugar Bowl victories. It was capped off when school legend Archie Manning teamed up with Vaught for an unlikely Sugar Bowl victory in 1969.

South Carolina — 2010-13

Coach: Steve Spurrier
Record: 42-11
National titles: 0
SEC titles: 0

The Gamecocks haven’t gotten their first SEC champoinship yet, but they got the closest they ever have in 2010 by winning the SEC East for the first time. Spurrier’s teams followed that up by setting the school record with 11 wins in 2011, matching it in 2012 and 2013. Connor Shaw took over at quarterback midway through 2011 and went undefeated at home through the end of his career. South Carolina also had some of its greatest players in school history on the team during this period, with Marcus Lattimore, Alshon Jeffery and Jadeveon Clowney all donning garnet and black.

Tennessee — 1926-32

Coach: Robert Neyland
Record: 61-2-5
National titles: 0
SoCon titles: 2

It was a different era in football history to be certain, but few teams dominated like Neyland’s during his first stint as head coach at Tennessee. Over seven years, the Volunteers lost just two games. Yes, you read that right. In 1929, the Vols outscored their opponents 330-13, and in five years during this era Tennessee went unbeaten. Neyland had several heydays, including pitching the last season-long shutout in NCAA history and winning three national titles later in his Tennessee career, but his first stint with the university set Tennessee up for future dominance.

Texas A&M — 1917-1927

Coaches: Dana Bible, Tubby Graves
Record: 73-16-8
National titles: 2 (1 unclaimed)
SWC titles: 7

Texas A&M has three national titles to its name, as well as one unofficial national championship, and two of the three official titles came during this era. Bible coached the team in all but the 1918 season. Surrounding that one year were two seasons in which Texas A&M didn’t allow a single point, capped off with a national championship in 1919. The Aggies kept up their winning ways and won another title to end the era in 1927. During this time, the 12th Man tradition was established when a stat runner was asked to suit and be ready to play.

Vanderbilt — 2012-13

Coach: James Franklin
Record: 18-6
National titles: 0
SEC titles: 0

Franklin’s tenure at Vanderbilt wasn’t long before Penn State lured him away, but he took the Commodores to new heights. Vanderbilt won two of its four bowl games in school history in a two-year span, and finished ranked twice after only having done so once before in school history. The school’s greatest modern player, Jordan Matthews, set SEC records during these two years and the ‘Dores proved that they can win in the SEC.