The New SEC and Scheduling

[AlaskaSteveUteAlum]

As suspected, the logistical nightmare about scheduling teams in a 16 team league is beginning for the SEC, now that OU and Texas are scheduled to be there in 2024. The article refers to ideas that didn’t work for the WAC—rediscovering that a square peg won’t fit in a round hole.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/35631374/sec-commish-excited-expand-conference-rekindle-rivalries

[UteHorn21]

How is it a nightmare? It’s actually beautiful what’s going to happen (3+6)

Eliminates the November FCS garbage games, pairs up historical rivals, and everyone will play everyone H&A on a 4 year cycle. It will be far and away the best tv inventory league by a Longshot.

[AlaskaSteveUteAlum]

You cannot have a rival, unless you play them every year. The rotating schedule doesn’t allow that. Since there will be no divisions, there will be very teams playing each other every year. Wait and see what happens. It didn’t work for the WAC, and it won’t work for the SEC, or the B1G, or any other conference.

[UteHorn21]

Do you not know what the 3+6 model is?

3 protected annual rivals
6 rotating bi annual opponents

Every schools’ historical rival will be locked in to play every year.

[AlaskaSteveUteAlum]

That is exactly what the WAC did with four pods of four teams in each pod. The teams in each pod played each other every year. It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now. We’ll find out soon enough. My bet is that it will collapse, just like the WAC did. And, that’s apart from the sports egos of the schools involved in the conference, which will lead to fights over getting more exposure and money (including NIL money) for their school. It will take a couple of years to see the cracks forming, but they’ll appear.

[2008 National Champ]

The 16 team WAC had bigger problems than the pod system

[AlaskaSteveUteAlum]

So will the SEC and B1G

[2008 National Champ]

Sure, but every school wants to be in those conferences. The schools in the WAC were all hoping to use that as a stepping stone to get to a major conference. Schools in the B1G and SEC are already getting the most money so trying to jump ship for a couple extra shekels won’t be an issue.

50+ million a year covers a lot of the logistics required to schlep your team/staff around. When Utah was getting a million or less a year to help defray costs, travelling to play in half empty stadiums like Rice or Tulsa wasn’t economically feasible.

The SEC and B1G may break off into super conferences but it will be because of $, not a pod scheduling system which actually provides better content than the SEC currently has. Currently the non-rivalry teams in the other division play each other every 6 years. Why would Bama want to be in a conference with Georgia if they only get them in front of their fans every decade or so? Now it will be down to no worse than once every 4 years.

[UteHorn21]

Honestly, it sounds like you have sour grapes for whatever reason? The new SEC will be flush full of historical powers and rivals. And will boast with 10/16 stadiums of 80,000+ capacity. Every week will feature marquis matchups that will be rating giants. Can’t wait.

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