Columnist suggests SEC should swap Missouri for West Virginia
When the SEC officially announced Texas A&M as an expansion program back in 2011, the move made a ton of sense. The Aggies brought in the Texas market to the league, combined with a rich football tradition, a large and passionate fan base, as well as one of the finest stadiums in all of college football.
Missouri, on the other hand, seemed like an odd choice for several reasons, most notably for its geography and the announcement the Tigers would compete in the East division – despite the fact Columbia is west of both Alabama and Mississippi schools, as well as LSU. However, after Mizzou showed itself to be more than capable of competing quickly in the SEC, those concerns were quickly quelled.
Now that Missouri is struggling in the post-Gary Pinkel era, is it time for the SEC to re-evaluate the addition of the school? As the Tigers prepare for a trip to Rocky Top to face Tennessee this weekend, one columnist from Knoxville states his case for removing the Tigers from the league.
In a recent article, Knoxville News Sentinel columnist John Adams argues the SEC should attempt to trade Missouri back to the Big 12 for West Virginia:
The SEC could send Missouri back to the Big 12 and take West Virginia in return. The SEC could even send a few hundred thousand dollars the Big 12’s way just to make the deal more appealing.
The exchange would make more geographic sense for both conferences. Adding West Virginia to the SEC East also would help balance a league that is tilted decidedly to the West.
Kicking Missouri out of the conference for one of the nation’s best teams this season certainly makes sense in 2016, but it’s a very short-sighted way of comparing the two schools.
Since the 2012 season, when both Missouri joined the SEC and West Virginia joined the Big 12, the two records of the schools are not very comparable. Heading into the 2016 season, Missouri held a 33-19 overall record and a 17-15 SEC record, meanwhile, the Mountaineers struggled to transition to a weaker Big 12 league, going 26-25 overall and 15-21 in Big 12 play – it’s easy to imagine West Virginia’s record would have been even worse in the SEC.
If the SEC kicked out every team that struggled, how long would it take before Vanderbilt and Kentucky got the boot? A move the league should take before swapping schools out with other conferences would be moving a West team to the East side in exchange for Mizzou – likely Auburn with its built in rivalries with Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida.
What are your thoughts on any moves the SEC could make to improve the division balance?
It’s just a typical John Adams column, pay him no mind. While Va Tech and WVU would make more sense to be in the SEC East, Mizzou is, get over it and move on.
This should have been thought of when Mizzou was brought in but then again Mizzou was a better program when they were brought in so no real complaints here. West Virginia would make more sense geographically though.
There is one thing that I think we can al agree on is a realignment is in order. It does not make sense geographically for Mizzou to be in the east specially for the travel aspect and same for some of the other teams. What is your all thoughts on the east/west alignment who should be where?
Send either Ole Miss or Miss State to the East with Mizzouri going to the West. If you wanted to send 2 teams send OM/MSU and Aub/Bama to the East with Mizzou and Tennessee/Vandy to the west.
The only thing that really makes geographical sense to me is to switch Auburn and Mizzou.
agreed especially since Aub is almost in GA anyway.
Yup. Plus Florida-Auburn could renew it’s rivalry.
What the SEC SHOULD do is do away with East/West divisions completely. Send the best two overall teams to the SEC championship, period. Each team could maintain two permanent “rivals” and alternate playing the other 12 teams. This would make the conference stronger top to bottom because no longer would an SEC East team that couldn’t beat half the west go to the championship game.
You must be too young to remember the East near decade-long domination of the conference, before about 2005. The East will again be the better division in time. Its cyclical, like a lot of things in College Football.
Before 2005? LSU won the conference in 2001 and 2003. Bama was on probation then. Times have definitely changed.
Ah Leak and Tebow seem like so long ago.
So you missed most of the 90’s?
But let’s be real… in regards to SEC championships it was actually Florida’s dominance in the East. The east itself has never dominated the West just as the West isn’t dominant over the East, Alabama currently is.
In the 24 years of the SECCG, Florida has the lead with 7 wins, followed by Alabama with 6.
Of the East’s 11 wins, 7 belong to Florida as noted above. Georgia and Tennessee bringing in two each.
So in 24 years, that gives the East 11 wins. Considering the run the West has been on, shows pretty much equal division between the East/West and in reality a equal division between Florida and Alabama since Alabama will be tying for the lead this year.
That is not to say the West, from top to bottom, is not currently better overall, which they are. But that cycles too as noted. Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee dominated the SEC for awhile just as Alabama, LSU and Team #3 (whoever puts two good seasons in a row together) currently do for the West.
I’ve lived here in Columbia for quite some time now, and even more than geographically, Mizz doesn’t fit CULTURALLY. The folks her don’t see themselves as southerners. Before they joined the SEC they’d make southern jokes about cutting off the boot heel of the state to raise the IQ of both Missouri & Tennessee or Arkansas. Now they TRY to fit and tell how Southern they are when it just isn’t a good fit. They have wrestling as a sport, and no other SEC team does.
When all of the realignment was going down, I felt Mizz was more of a Big 10 team or should have stayed Big 12. But of course, the SEC wanted those KC & STL tv sets. Lots of money there although not a TON of people from either of those cities really care about Mizz sports. The support dies a lot once you get about 80-100 miles away from the school in either direction.
Mizzou has huge fan bases both in KC and STL. So you’re wrong their. And they’ve won half the division titles as Arkansas in just 3 years.
Can you speak to the “cultural affiliation”? You’re in a conference with people who are very proud of it.
I will speak of the cultural affiliation. We’re Americans and damn proud of it. So you all go drink a big hot cup of shut the heck up.
I’m talking period, and I’m not talking about the hogs. You just got sensitive there. And congrats on those division titles. The hogs would love that schedule. But, this is about way more than football. I said CULTURE. And I’ve been here long enough to see it. When you go to STL or KC, you can’t tell that MIZZ is the state school. Same goes for Springfield and Joplin. You actually see more Hog stuff down there than Mizz stuff. That’s just the truth. You see it with your eyes, I see it as someone without a dog in the fight in this particular point I’m making.
Agree 23. Not only that, We’re ALL Americans and damn proud of it. But down south, no matter where you go you wouldn’t tell them “you all go drink a big hot cup of shut the heck up”, it’s Ya’ll.
I can attest to seeing more AR clothing in Branson.
I know it’s very close to the border, but I laugh every time I go to silver dollar city at how few MZ clothing I see and how many pigs I see.
Y’all are arguing with a peckerwood sh#t-kicker from the Arkansas hills. Of course he’d think Mizzou is a little too cosmopolitan for him and “don’t fit in ‘down South'” … coming from Arkansas, where they name their team after a pig, it’s the first city he’s lived in that had running water and no refrigerators on the front porch. He misses seeing the chickens through the floorboards.
In other words, “Lighten up, Francis …”
And I cannot take you seriously if the basis of your argument is trying to insult. You just insulted yourself. :) Moving along. The culture is different. And I was born and raised in Little Rock, plenty cosmo, lived in New Orleans metro, as well as the Houston area. Have a wonderful day HJ Tiger. Argue with someone with your level of maturity. I won’t be the one. :)
Cham, a fool in Arky (you) started all this. What did you think was going to happen?
Not sure which Columbia you live in or how you measure 80-100 miles, but I couldnt disagree more, I have lived in Kansas City for 35 years where the support for MIZZOU is higher now than I’ve ever seen it. Let’s not turn on ourselves after a tough year, teams will go through those, we are on the edge of the SEC world, our challenges are different from those of Alabama, Mississippi, but we do bring value , tradition and pride of our University to the SEC.
Yes, I agree that it is probably higher than it has ever been. But compared to many of the other schools, it is low still. There isn’t quite the feel here as “ride or die” with your team. Once again, my point was about the CULTURE. Not the same fit. Always felt like a better fit for Big Ten. These are not disses, these are observations from someone that has lived here for a decade and a half, and lived in Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi & Louisiana.
Your argument is that it doesn’t “feel” right to you. All this talk about your feelings you must really be enjoying Columbia.
The SEC didn’t have a problem congratulating Mizzou wrestling on Twitter last year, so I’m not sure I see the logic in the wrestling comment
Of course they congratulate it…. because they are going to support their schools no matter what. That’s the cool thing about the SEC. The point was, Mizz is the only school in the conference with it. Once again… CULTURALLY the school is not a fit. Not a diss. Quit being sensitive.
ChamHock23, don’t confuse the liberal educators in Columbia as representative of our state. There is a reason they call Columbia the Socialist Republic of. As a Columbia native (defined as being born here over 60-years ago), most NATIVE Missourians are proud of the fact Missouri never formally surrendered in the civil war. Missouri had more battles than all but one other state, though most were skirmishes by the deep south’s standards. After over 100-years we still hate the Redleg Jayhawkers from Lawrence Kansas. Yes our accent is midwestern, but attitudes are a lot more southern than northern.
And the SEC should have gone after either North Carolina or Duke. It would be a huge boost to SEC basketball to have one of those programs fighting it out with UK every year. Not sure if they would have gone for it or not but they would bring a decent football team with excellent academics and basketball to the conference.
Swapping Auburn to the East and Mizzou to the West would make the most sense.
That’s exactly what they should do
Not to mention they should go to a 9-game conference schedule so they could keep all the cross-division rivals and not have to wait years to play some other teams from the opposite division.
That would probably eliminate the permanent Tennessee-Alabama game. If Bama can only keep 1 permanent East game, they would keep the Iron Bowl over the 3rd Sat in Oct.
Oh no doubt.
Living in St. Louis, it appears folks enjoy the SEC more than the previous conference. Since realignment the brand is everywhere here in the metropolitan area. You see Mizzou everything, everyday. Can’t say that was the case 5 years ago and beyond. Joining the SEC has raised the stakes without doubt, however I think it has been for the best. I’ve never been more involved as a fan and I love our new overly zealous fan bases here in the SEC. The big 12 is just cooked food without the seasoning and spices…. you stomach it, but it’s not enjoyable.
Good take on how I would imagine most Mizzou fans feel about joining the SEC.
I mean c’mon, the Big 12 never had comment sections like these! Who wouldn’t trade the Big Boring for all this character and drama here in the SEC. This league has programs who are either relevant, delusional, has-beens or wanna-bes. I don’t have to call any names, It sucks having a historic down time within our program and embarrassing to say the least, but at least I get to enjoy the rest of my division fall off one by one this year. Heck on that note, I’ll stir up the pot and say the East is down because Mizzou is down. (BTW Tenn, UGA and FL has been using this excuse for years now).
I love the SEC and I’m really po’d Mizzou is way off this year. We’re going to build a huge new football training center very soon and hopefully will be competing at a level we’re used to.
The best thing that ever happened to Mizzou was the SEC. I root for every SEC team playing someone out of conference and I never did that during the horrible Big 12 days.
“Swabbing” out one school for another? How about swapping? Ridiculous article to begin with, when it the last time Tennessee won the SEC east? Missouri won it their first 2 years in the league. Tennessee and it’s fans have always considered the Vols a top tier SEC team but they are the only ones, everyone else sees them for what they are a middle of the pack team who got lucky one year and won a championship. In the national picture Tennessee has always been and will always be a non factor. At least the have one record, playing the same stupid song over and over during a game more than any other team
You haven’t been following College Football for very long have you? Tennessee is top 10 or close to top 10 in the country in all-time wins, bowl games, bowl wins, all-americans, draft picks, conference titles, natty’s, etc. etc. Just off the top of my head, I can tell you that Tennessee has the second most SEC titles behind Bama. You need to educate yourself before sounding so uninformed.
Congratulations on beating literally some of the worst teams in Tennessee’s history (thanks to Kiffy and Dooley) and taking advantage of a downed FLa program as well, but Tennessee has never finished with 8 losses in a season, like Mizzou will this year. Ohio st. and Tennessee are the only two programs to never have 8 losses in a season.
Quit trying to lump TN in with FL, facts are facts, TN hasn’t won the East in a decade, where MO has won 2. You talk about other teams taking advantage of down years, and that’s nonsense, it doesn’t change facts. The irony here is that TN’s only chance at winning the East is coming in the worst year for the East (only one win vs the west), and you better be hoping that they do or you lose that bet and will be gone.
We have 2 wins vs the west now :p Thanks GA :p Maybe 3 come Saturday lol?
Just because: UK beat MSU, but now UGA has beaten AU. So that’s two East wins vs. West.
*sorry two wins, lol
Cats, Tennessee has a GREAT tradition of football and I resent anyone saying anything different. Their stadium and their fans are some of the very best in CF. Learn something about respect before trashing a programs with as much success and history as Tennessee.
You are an IDIOT!!! Plain and simple. Here is a small portion of the history of a storied program. You have only been in the SEC for a short time. I doubt the Misery pussy cats will EVER compare to the great TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS!!! Read on if you have the stomach for it.
811 wins: In more than 120 years of football UT has claimed 811 wins Tennessee has the 11th most wins of any program in NCAA history and the second most among SEC teams behind only Alabama.
Robert Neyland led the Volunteers for 21 years. He won four national championships, six conference titles and posted an all-time record of 173-31-12 not to mention UT is the ONLY team with a shut out season. No teams scored on UT in 1939.
Scoreless season: In 1939, Neyland’s Vols capped off a perfect 10-0 regular season without allowing a single point the entire year. Tennessee outscored its opponents that year by a combined score of 212-0, earning a trip to the Rose Bowl. Ironically, Tennessee was the team shut out in that game, falling 14-0 to then-No. 3 USC, which was playing a virtual home game (especially considering the means of commercial travel in 1939).
Six national titles: Tennessee has won six national championships in its history, the first coming in 1938 and the first four occurring between ’38 and 1951. The Vols won their other titles in 1967 and 1998, and that 31-year gap between titles from ’67 to ’98 is the longest in program history.
Bowling regulars: Tennessee is tied for the third-most bowl appearances in NCAA history with 50, trailing only Alabama (59) and Texas (52). Tennessee is tied for third with Georgia, and its 26 all-time bowl victories rank sixth all-time behind Alabama (34), USC (32), Oklahoma (28), Georgia (27) and Texas (27). The Vols are 26-24 all-time in bowl games, good for a win percentage of .510.
Slow news day…
Flip Mizzou and Auburn…
Done
+1
I personally feel kinda sorry for Mizzou fans. A lot of other SEC fans don’t really want them in the conference, and Mizzou has had a lot of trouble with those protests the past couple years. It’s fun to hypothesize about what if West Virginia was added instead, but that’s all it will ever be, a hypothetical. Missouri is in our conference, and they are a good addition. They’ve won the East twice already and, even though a lot of people on here like to focus solely on football, they’ve also brought some decent shooty-hoops and great academics, one of the few AAU members we have.
That said, I think there is a lot more that can be done to make them a more cohesive fit in the Conference. I think doing away with divisions as a whole and giving every team 4 permanent conference opponents and rotate through 4 more every year would be beneficial to Missouri, as well as the entire conference. If every year they played, say: Arkansas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina, and rotated through the rest of the opponents, they would host and visit more SEC teams and build up some history with them. Also, if they could resurrect their rivalry with Kansas, a great historic rivalry, that’d be great for the school and it’s fans.
Nobody wants these Missouri Yankees in the conference. They should bring Oklahoma in from the Big 12. Everyone knows they want to get the hell out of that conference. And their is no trade needed. Just kick Mizzou out.
dumbest thing i’ve heard in a while. bye troll.
Dumb for who? Certainly not the SEC. Your team is terrible in every sport that matters right now and while football might get better your basketball and baseball teams are terrible. Bring Oklahoma in. Would help in football and basketball.
Thank goodness those who make decisions for the SEC aren’t as dumb as this guy, Adams. Missouri ranks higher in attendance than West Virginia, Missouri has two major cities with far more TVs than West Virginia, Missouri has higher TV ratings than West Virginia, Missouri has greater recruiting and recruiting potential than West Virginia and in the other revenue sport, Basketball, Missouri has a richer tradition than West Virginia. The Missouri athletic program may be down right now but in the long term this was a great choice by the SEC. The next best areas are North Carolina and Virginia for all the same reasons as Missouri. However I don’t think any teams from those states are available.
Great program at West Virginia but not great revenue and adding a team because it makes the map look better it a poor decision. It’s clear that John Adams went to school for journalism not business.
Yea. Welcome to the nightmare that is a John Adams article. Tennessee fans have had to endure his BS for years.
Agreed on all points. West Virginia is a non-starter mainly because of academics (meanwhile Mizzou is in the AAU), but also because Pittsburgh is a relatively small market and the DC market is oversaturated. WVU just doesn’t have a dominant enough presence to justify admission.
Missouri never should have been invited to the SEC. They simply don’t fit. WV was always the better choice, at least in my opinion.
Mizzou never made any sense to me. I’d boot them in a heartbeat in exchange for Clemson. That would make geographic sense, the UGA-Clemson rivalry would renew, and if the USC-Clemson game wasn’t fun enough already, just make that a conference game! Besides, I think Clemson would add a lot more depth to the relatively weak SEC basketball league.
South Carolina would vote against Clemson.
That and Clemson wouldn’t leave the ACC, it’s not like they dominate over there, it’s one of the easiest paths to the playoffs.
The idea of WV is slightly ludicrous, if you look at the SEC it is made up of teams that are all in SOUTHERN states , West Virginia went yankee and therefore should not be included and they would probably refuse to be included anyway. Now if the SEC is looking to expand, then North Carolina and Virginia is the way to go. While NC and NC State might both not want to join because as Bobby Bowden so eloquently put it – The SEC is too much Big Boy Football – they might also recognize that the financial strength of the conference would be of immense help to the program that joins.
Oh and Mizzou was a southern state while Kansas and the redlegs were northern which explains the intense hatred the 2 have for each other – for historical reference i direct you to the movie – the outlaw josie wales.
Missouri was divided during the civil war and today as to which “side” they fall on. Known as a “border state” they had 2 governments within the state during the war and supplied 3x as many troops to the Union as opposed to the Confederacy. While I don’t think this has squat to do with football, I find it interesting. There were more in-state “brother on brother” skirmishes in Missouri than any other state.
You collected a lot of Bologna in that false history lesson. Missouri had one southern government under Governor and General Sterling Price. They had a currency with Jefferson Davis face on the bill. The opposing government force was most often the Illinois Milita. Kansas could only mount raids into the state which made no strategic diff. And Missouri,s undivided government sent troops all over the south like to Vicksburg, where you will find a cemetery just for Missouri,s artillery division. In north Missouri I drive past the same monument design for the unknown casualties in battles fought as far north as the Iowa border, none of which were fought against a northern Missouri politically created military. Every state had opposite leaning citizens but that is a long ways from a divided government. Oh buy the way, the Sterling Price Museum is only 30 miles from where I am sitting right now…smack in the middle of NORTH MIssouri
Well, actually the folks in what would be/became WV fought on both sides of the war. In fact, Confederate general Stonewall Jackson was born in what would become the state. It also lies mostly below the Mason Dixon line. That being said, Morgantown is practically in Pennsylvania and even farther north than Columbia.
You’re correct, West Virginia was on the right side, most of the SEC was on the wrong side.
Just to put that in clear terms for you.
John Adams should get smacked up saying that BS. Tennessee hasn’t won a damn thing since Mizzou has been in the conference. Geographically it’s not that far off.
Either move Alabama to the East or trade the Hogs to the Big 12 …. no mas Bama.
You are a terrible hog fan. I Don’t care if we never beat Alabama or win the conference but I sure as hell don’t want to be in the big 12. How about you take your sorry a$$ there and get out of our fan base.
I live in Conway, and Iv never heard a hog fan ever say anything like that before. I believe most would call you a heretic lol.
Best is to go to NORTH / SOUTH
North= MIZZU-ARK-KY-TN-VANDY-GA-USC
South= LSU-TAM-MISS-MSST-AUB-(FLA-BAMA) for Beach Fun
Terrible plan. How does this help anything?
No true Southerner is going to voluntarily move into the “North” division of anything. Go back to the drawing board.
…you trying to start a war?
When every league goes to 2 cupcakes max, 1 non conference fbs team(UT-A&M, KU-MU, UK-UL, UGA-GT, VT-UVA, LSU-Tulane?, NC State-UNC, UF-FSU, VU-MTSU, SC-Clemson are examples of the 1 non conference rivalry possibilities & ACC/SEC Rivalry week), & 9 conference game schedule beginning most likely in 2025 with a 7-1-1 rotation conference slate for each division, like the big 10, but they have is 6-1-2 rotation slate:
SEC:
Tennessee
Kentucky
Missouri: Moved to Western division
Vanderbilt
Georgia
Florida
South Carolina
NC State: Fits ACC-SEC rivalry week, brings in Raleigh market, reliable and strong fan base, pretty decent team some seasons, & fits perfectly into Geography
Virginia Tech: Brings in ACC-SEC rivalry week, great fan base, good team most years(long bowl game streak), & fits SEC geography
Alabama
Auburn
LSU
Texas A&M
Arkansas
Ole miss
Mississippi state
ACC:
Syracuse
Boston College
Pitt
Connecticut: Finally joins ACC as VT & NC State leave without destroying any significant rivalries(keeping basketball & football with UNC) & joins the ACC with 4 teams left
Virginia
Louisville
Florida State
Miami
Duke
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Georgia Tech
East Carolina: Joins ACC to replace NC State and saves Raleigh market and fits well with its geography.
West Virginia: Bolts Big 12 as it can tell a collapse is coming & joins ACC where it belonged in the first place
Cincinnati: Finally joins as they fit the ACC & brings back rivalries like the Keg of Nails with U of L, river city rivalry with Pitt, & the backyard brawl
Big 10:
Rutgers
Maryland
Ohio State
Indiana
Penn State
Michigan
Michigan State
Illinois
Purdue
Minnesota
Nebraska
Wisconsin
Northwestern
Iowa
Temple: Joins because pretty good at football and ok at basketball, opens up Philadelphia market area and nearby areas and fits big 10 geography.
Notre Dame?(if forced to join a conference, if not, navy as a football only members since all other good members taken!!!) Joins because all of its rivals are in the big ten and drops out off ACC for basketball, but might not unless its forced to join a conference.
Pac 12:
Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State
Stanford
Colorado
California
USC
UCLA
Arizona
Arizona State
Utah
Boise State: Great at football, definitely would get in, already rivals with Pac 12 teams
San Diego State: Obvious choice as they are good in sports
Fresno State: Gets in because of Geography and bigger than San Jose State
Wyoming or San Jose State(pick one) 2 only other football MW powerhouses that could get in that wouldn’t be taken
Big 12:
USF: Huge university along with UCF and opens up recruiting grounds for Big 12, as they have historically been pretty good at football, & they open up big time TV markets of Tampa/Orlando with recruiting
UCF
SMU
Houston
Memphis: 200 million from Fedex & Memphis market attract the Big 12 to invite them, along with FedEx spending hundreds of millions for a possible conference championship game if they sponsor it
BYU: Gets in because blocked by Utah for Pac-12, fit big 12 West pretty well, & is a good powerhouse team
Colorado State: Join because they bring back the nostalgia of Colorado, along with they have a good football stadium, fit the Big 12 geography, & bring back the Denver market
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Iowa State
Kansas State
Texas
Texas Tech
TCU
Baylor
Kansas
Wow, you really thought through this issue. I like alot of it. The moves for the SEC are great, however, it looks like the ACC gets screwed. The attendance and TV rating of UCONN and East Carolina just wont match Vtech and NC State.
Temple in the Big 10?
Fresno State, SDS in the PAC?
The Big 12 looks like a collection of leftovers. I don’t think that league can be salvaged.
A Power 4 is the next reality.
No mention of New Mexico or New Mexico State, Nevada, or UNLV.
I agree that the power 4 is probably next, but Texas will try to prevent that as much as possible, since no one would want them, they would try to mess with league with the longhorn network/funds, etc. They are a cancer to every possible other conference. Most likely, the SEC/ACC will go with these teams in the future, because when the SEC expands, they are gonna get NC State and VT no doubt in my mind & also including 2 prime time rivalries for the SEC/ACC each year. I can definitely see this is the way these leagues expand, FSU/Miami would block USF/UCF, and I can see UCONN & Cincinnati joining definitely. I’m pretty sure WVU will bolt ship when the spot becomes available, but memphis/temple are toss ups considering what will happen. No way Notre Dame will join a power five unless these conferences start filling in. The Big 10 is good as it is + most likely Notre Dame, the big 12 is hard to predict except for Houston/SMU who will definitely join in the future, they aren’t crappy like Rice University, they have good basketball/football stadiums, teams, & fan bases, right now the Big 12 doesn’t want their competition, but they will be forced to get it in the future with the dollars at stake. Also, the only guaranteed teams to join the other 3 conferences, since the SEC/ACC projections I made I think are locks to a certain degree except Memphis/Cincinnati could go either way, are San Diego State & Boise State, who have home and homes with Pac-12 teams twice every year, are very good in football most years/ok in basketball with decent teams, although SDSU is better than most, & SMU/Houston because of the reasons I listed above.
b/c…..”north vs. south” just sounds better & creates 2 new GREAT games each year…
FLA-BAMA & TN-ARK
Sounds better to who? What turnip truck did you fall off of?
Seriously though, getting Georgia fans such as myself from a state in the deep south to identify with the “SEC North” well…it just ain’t gonna work.
Why not keep the SEC to schools actually in the SE part of that name? Mizzou, A&M, and WV are not SE. Steal Miami and FSU. Miami = East, FSU = West.
TAMU was a major get for the SEC and it would be crazy to get rid of them. Using your plan, keep the Aggies, move Mizzou to the West and add both FSU and Miami to the East.
That would be perfect but it’s not likely as UF would block FSU and Miami. TAMU would likely block UT. SC would block Clemson. So expansion isn’t as easy as people think. The only reasonable options are schools from NC along with Virginia. That’s it.
We need to move both UAT and Auby to the East for Mizzou and Vandy. Moving only Aub results in the Tide needing to add yet another permanent crossover further messing up the schedule.
Doctor Larry if you look at the SEC it consists of schools whose states were all in the old confederacy, WV was not Missouri was, Texas was. If The SEC goes to expand it would make sense to look in the NC?VA markets or possibly take another team from Texas. (though not UT as they like to play dog in the manger).
This is what needs to happen and should of happen. Missouri should have stayed in the Big XII, Louisville should have went to the SEC, and West Virginia should of went to the ACC. The reason why West Virginia is in the Big XII, which remember is primarily the midwest like Iowa and Oklahoma and Texas, is because the stubborn idiots from the ACC were like, “We don’t want you ruining us. It’s bad enough most of the teams are terrible in football, it’s worse if we let you broke back mountain hillbillies come ruin our basketball.” They didn’t understand two things: 1) UWV’s rivalry with PITT actually meant something not only to the fans and the then Big East Football race, but also meant something in a bowl placing scenario and 2) West Virginia is not only good in football, but is also good in basketball and could, potentially, represent the Big XII in the College Football Playoffs. Those aren’t opinions, those are facts.
Wow, I counted 19 comments from normal minds, ….but everyone else not moving the adult-brain-function needle. Missouri finished the 2013 season ranked #5 in the nation, they finished the 2014 season ranked #13. They won the Cotton Bowl against the Big 12, and they won the Citrus Bowl against the Big 10. But of course if one can’t understand what winning a division in the best conference in college football means, what chance is there that such a mental giant will read and understand what I just wrote. This discussion reminds me of the Utube video where they ask Miss America candidates “Should math be taught in school”.
I have lived in Auburn and the St. Louis area. I also went to school at the University of Illinois. Missouri fits the SEC much better than the Big 10. In the Big 12, pretty much anyone can fit in if they are not East or West coast. Missouri is a transition state, a lot of people actually have a Southern dialect/culture there. Historically they fit in as well, ever heard of Mark Twain or Jesse James?
John Adams has been and always will be a lousy journalist. there are more complaints about him in the KNS posts than I care to mention. Ignore this moron, please!
A whole lot of people that aren’t from Missouri seem to know a lot about Missouri. Very interesting.
Five things about Mr. Adams obviously silly take:
1. There is the sticky fact that we actually have to agree to go back to the Big 12. And most of us still can’t stand Texas, Oklahoma, and a few of the other schools. There is too much bitterness there. Will. Not. Happen.
2. No, we aren’t really a cultural fit for the SEC. Sure, a few frat-boys started dressing up to games and girls started wearing sundresses when the switch happened but we aren’t a southern state. We are midwesterners. A big chunk of our state is essentially a giant cornfield, we show up to games in blue-jeans, and it gets real cold by the end of the college football season. It might even snow the weekend your team comes to town, though probably not.
I like all of that, wouldn’t want to change it, and I’m not going to pretend that this is Athens, GA or Auburn, Alabama. Those are wonderful towns, btw, but they are different from Columbia. I think you guys have some awesome college towns and tailgating traditions and I try to be respectful of that. I only ask the same from you all.
3. And I only say this hesitantly, and for completeness: if you are going to kick a university out because they are not committed to football, don’t have a large stadium, have poor attendance, and their school doesn’t have a traditionally SEC feel….you are going to have to kick out one of your charter members long before you can get to us. But we shouldn’t do that.
4. We won our division twice in the first three years. If our program sucks that badly, we should probably eliminate all seven SEC East programs.
5. Why post this moronic take on SDS? Literally the only reason to do so is to generate a bunch of SEC fans crapping on Missouri and the Missouri contingent responding to that in the most annoying way possible, likely including me in that latter category. I think you accomplished that mission, but….why?
Oh, clicks. Of course.
Agree with you mutiger. St Louis is more “southern” than a lot of South East cities. The biggest problem with Mizzou is their placement in the East. They have a lot more in common with Arky and TAMU than any SEC East school.
Yeah, I’d prefer the west. Although that pretty much moves the ceiling down from a division title in a strong season to 3rd or 4th in the west. Still, I’d go that way. I would prefer to play A&M year in and year out.
That is an underrated rivalry with some really fun games having been played.
Nobleman69 don’t associat Us with Missouri. We are nothing alike. They don’t deserve to be in the conference at all and if they were in the division they’re supposed to be in they would have a losing record every year since they’ve joined the conference. Oh well least my hogs can get at least 1 conference win a year. But Mizzou yall can have that stupid trophy because we sure as hell don’t want it.
Yeah, I get the guaranteed win argument. Arkansas is totally undefeated against Missouri, when you don’t count their losses.
I saw this piece… And it made me feel embarrassed that a journalist could be such a simpleton.
There are many factors that were in consideration. Mizzou has historically been better than WVU. Mizzou has a bigger overall sports department, and we’re successful in more than just football (perennial volleyball and softball contenders as well). We’re also a better academic institution, with a much larger endowment, in a much larger state.
The author is just trolling. His entire argument boils down to this. MU sucks this year, and WVU is having a good year, in one sport: football. Therefore they should realign conferences. Stupid. At any rate, we already have won division more times than 6 other (yes that’s right, 6) SEC schools. Chill out and give it some time. Crappy seasons happen, especially after what we’ve been through here in Columbia over the last year.
Factoring into the simpleton angle, Mizzou has played Tennessee five times in SEC play … and beaten them four times. Sheesh, some people.
Adams is a knucklehead! Great comments from MUTIGERSBALL…
Adams stirs up stuff for opposing teams all the time, last wk. KY (UT blows them out etc..) im sure the UT coaches don’t like giving the opp. bulletin board stuff!
He’s from Louisiana & probably a closet LSU fan!
Hey….SPIKEDCOLLAR…like the name…lov UGA biting @ Auburn player! 1 of the ALL TIME BEST…SMOKEY took a bite at a BAMA player when Fulmer was coach, have it on video, cant remem what yr.?
also…FYI, I didn’t fall off a turnip truck but maybe I stumble on a curb on Bourbon St.! what WAR! seems liked it never ended?
MOVE Mizzu to east so they have some traditional rivals in TAM & ARK & MOVE Auburn to west (GA. every yr.-a must have- & keep BAMA for 1 perm. east opp.) problem solved
Yes geographically WV makes more sense but the fact is Mizzou was added not because they were a power team. Pinkel’s record was a mirage as he was in the B12 North and did not face Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma or even Oklahoma State regularly.
The reason Mizzou was brought in was money. WV cannot bring in TV viewership like Missouri with its Kansas City and St Louis DMAs