Through and through, the SEC is a football conference.

Yes, John Calipari is the emperor of college basketball and is doing unprecedented things at Kentucky. Billy Donovan and Florida won a couple of championships in the mid-2000s. Programs like LSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and even perennial bottom feeders Auburn and South Carolina are on their way up, drawing in elite recruits and prominent coaches.

Still, the conference put just five teams in the tournament this year. Only one, undefeated Kentucky, is still alive. Ole Miss won a play-in game, while Arkansas won its first round matchup. Three of the five teams lost in the round of 64.

Meeting with the media on Wednesday, Nick Saban talked about his thoughts on hoops at the SEC’s reigning football powerhouse.

“I don’t want Alabama to be just a football school,” Saban told reporters. “I really want us to be good in everything. And I’ve tried to be very supportive of all the other coaches here.”

Alabama, of course, just fired its basketball coach, Anthony Grant, after yet another missed NCAA tournament. The school is reportedly going to chase some big fish, like Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall.

The problem: there are rumors floating around that Marshall would turn down a massive contract offer from Alabama. The reason? He wouldn’t want to leave a good situation at Wichita State to become second fiddle at a football powerhouse.

Is that a problem throughout the SEC?

Florida is the most notable school in recent years to pull off the football-basketball double. For a stretch in the mid-2000s, they had two of the very best coaches in their respective professions in Urban Meyer and Donovan.

Other SEC schools are using their football clout to lure top-notch coaches. In the last few years, big-name coaches like South Carolina’s Frank Martin, Auburn’s Bruce Pearl and most recently Mississippi State’s Ben Howland, hired this week, have made their homes in the SEC. When Martin signed his contract with the Gamecocks in 2012, it was the fourth-richest in the SEC. Pearl got a six-year deal worth up to $15 million to return to the sidelines after a stint at ESPN, while Howland will earn about $2 million per year over his four-year contract.

While far behind Calipari and Donovan, you can infer that those salaries show that SEC schools that are prospering in (and raking in cash from) their football programs are willing to allocate that money to other money-making sports. All three of the schools that have hired high-profile coaches in the last few years have played in prominent bowl games, earning the fat paychecks that come along with those appearances.

In its most recent valuations, Forbes put Alabama’s football program at $110 million, third-most valuable in the country, and reported a $47 million profit from the program. With that kind of cash flow, not to mention the need to keep up with in-state rival Auburn, it’s no surprise the Tide want to bring in an elite coach for the hardwood to go along with their legendary gridiron boss.

Alabama’s hiring will be an interesting case study. In 2013, Kentucky was able to lure one of the hottest coordinator names in the country, Mark Stoops, in part because of the financial clout the school has from its basketball empire. Alabama has the same kind of edge in football; the parallels between the Crimson Tide in football and the Wildcats in basketball are clear.

Will Alabama be able to find the hot name to bring its basketball program up to a nationally competitive level, or will the stranglehold football has over the school choke out those chances?

If Saban had it his way, the Crimson Tide would bring in the best coach possible. If they’re unable to, Saban’s dominance could be the very reason why not.