The SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Fl. weren't low on discussion. To make it a quick read (and to not try and tread on too much old ground, The SEC Football Blog brings you a (not completely complete) list of winners and losers from the three days of meetings. If you have any more, please comment! WINNERS The supporters of tradition: The SEC voted for the 6-1-1 schedule to stick around for the next half a decade, meaning that the century-old Auburn-Georgia and Alabama - Tennessee rivalries stay intact. And so does the LSU vs Florida game, which has been going for a mere 41 years, which Read more [...]

Les Miles is not going to get what he wants out of the SEC scheduling gods, conference President (and Florida Chancellor) Dr Bernie Machen has revealed in a press conference. Future SEC schedules would adopt a 6-1-1 schedule, that would see six divisional rivals, one rotating rival, and one permanent rival. The reason? Machen and his fellow Chancellors thought it was important to keep 100-year, cross-conference rivalries such as Alabama vs Tennessee and Georgia vs Auburn as well as the 41-year old rivalry of Florida and LSU. "I'm Florida. We think that cross-division rivalries are really Read more [...]

The SEC will be pushing a four-team play-off plan to determine future National Champions, Florida's Chancellor told a press conference at this year's SEC Spring Meetings. Dr Bernie Machen of Florida - talking down the road from UF's campus in Gainseville in Destin - said at a press conference: “We want a four-team play-off". He added: "I would be amazed if it wasn't a four-team play-off with semifinals in the bowl system and a final championship game bid out separately.” Machen added that the SEC would be pushing for the four best teams in college football to play each other - regardless Read more [...]

The biggest scheduling news to come out of the Spring Meetings might not be from Mike Slive but from the Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity, who confirmed that the 2020-1 series between Ohio State and Georgia has been cancelled. Scheduling website FBSchedules.com informed SEC Football Blog via Twitter that it had broken the story after a record request from UGA, and that beat reporters had then jumped on the news. Whoever broke the story - the big word we have about this is: Bummer. The home-and-home could have been an all-time great one. According to letters, Ohio State cancelled Read more [...]

Alex Ferguson, writer of the college football blog "The View From North America" wrote a lovely piece about the NCAA and whether it should pay players. He'll be contributing SEC-related articles to the SEC Football Blog from time to time because as he says: "My blog needs some airing elsewhere". We'll let you know if the arrangement doesn't work out. Anyway, here's his first article....(taken from the View From North America's site) -  While all the chat at the SEC's Spring Meetings in Destin, Fl. may have been about scheduling, play-offs, and the amazing haircuts of Mssrs. Miles Read more [...]

Despite the griping of the coaches, the SEC is close to getting some finality regarding a scheduling deal, Commissioner Mike Slive has told the SEC's website. “I anticipate that by Friday afternoon, we will have a format," he said. Coaches have been vigorous in their ideas of what they want varying to non-division games to count for nothing (Steve Spurrier and Les Miles), to no permanent non-division rival (Miles, who's anxious on avoiding Florida year in, year out, despite the rivalry going on for 41 years), to a 6-1-1 deal. "There are pros and cons for every format," Slive said. "I Read more [...]

It's as though everyone's either on a schedule, or grumbling about them these days. And the SEC coaches are no different at the Spring Meetings in Destin, FL. A few points: There some seriousness in discussions of nine-game SEC schedule, with Nick Saban advocating it, according to Clay Travis.. "Clay Travis (@ClayTravisBGID: Biggest news on SEC football coaches meeting was seriousness of 9 game schedule. Told Saban advocated for 9." Steve Spurrier wants divisions decided not by overall SEC record, but divisional record, and boy is he banging his drum about it. He's still a little Read more [...]

The SEC has a TV network, and they aren't going to be afraid to use it. Just think Big Ten TV, except far, far bigger. It's going to own the South, and then cross the Mason-Dixie Line and keep going, until even the Canadians say: "Screw the CFL, we'll just watch SEC TV". At the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, they don't have a name for the Cash Cow, so they've named it "Project X", with Ole Miss Athletic Director Ross Bjork telling Matt Hayes at SB Nation: "I think it'll be every bit as big as the Big Ten". And to start, they should be showing SEC games against Big Ten opponents, since the Big Read more [...]

While you're waiting for all the news to come out of today's SEC Spring Meetings, we've got some stuff for you to read (some of it's a little old, so you'll have to excuse us): 1) What's a bigger dump - College Station, TX or Gainseville, FL? Kevin Sumlin and Will Muschamp have their comments, hilariously discussed by Outkick The Coverage. 2) Michael Felder (In The Bleachers) and Barrett Sallee (Bleacher Report) arguing over whether high-profile recruit Robert Nkemdiche will go to LSU or Alabama.  We think he'll go to Georgia, because of his uncle and the chance to start pretty much straight Read more [...]

The biggest news of the SEC Spring Meetings happened right at the end when news came out that LSU and Florida would be paired together for the forseeable future as 'permanent' SEC rivals as part of the new 6-1-1 scheduling. One coach was happy about this. One coach was not. LSU's Les Miles was the one NOT wearing the smile. He said at his press conference in Destin (according to the Palm Beach Post): "This is all based on some vague tradition that is not considering that you’re adding teams to the conference. Tell me about the tradition of the conference when you add teams to it. He Read more [...]