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Clemson, FSU, Texas, A&M Top SEC List

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Post  Carolina Kat Sun May 30, 2010 6:07 am

SEC spring meetings: Money, expansion hot topics

Written by JOSEPH PERSON
jperson@thestate.com

Posted on 05.30.10

Five storylines from the SEC spring meetings, which begin Tuesday in Destin, Fla.:

Growing the league

Expansion is not an official agenda item. But with twice the usual media turnout expected in Destin, there will be plenty of talk about whether the SEC should expand to 16 teams.Commissioner Mike Slive has said the SEC is working on a plan should the Big Ten expand. Jimmy Hyams, a veteran broadcaster in Knoxville, citing a source close to CBS, reported Slive already has met with the network to discuss potential targets with Texas, Texas A&M, Clemson and Florida State at the top of the list. The SEC denied the report, but the conference has a history of being proactive in enhancing the conference’s reputation and revenues.

More money

The league will announce record payouts for 2009-10, the first year the $3 billion deals with CBS and ESPN hit the balance POOP. The SEC is expected to distribute about $17 million to each of its schools, up from an average of $11.1 million last year. Already the windfall is being felt around the league, particularly among assistant football coaches. Four defensive coordinators, including USC’s Ellis Johnson, received new contracts this offseason worth $600,000 or more. Let’s hope the SEC also announces plans to give money to the oil spill cleanup efforts along the Gulf Coast, where the league has held its meetings for years.

Urban renewal

Florida football coach Urban Meyer, whose chest pains in December prompted him to take a leave of absence, has made himself scarce since the Gators’ spring game. It’s good to hear Meyer has been taking it easy while offensive coordinator Steve Addazio attended Gator Club meetings and media obligations. The challenge for Meyer will be to find occasional quiet time during the season.

Death to basketball divisions


Mississippi State and Mississippi went a combined 0-8 against the SEC’s East top four teams last season, yet both received first-round byes in the conference tournament by finishing 1-2 in the West. It was the latest example of a divisional seeding system that critics say is unfair and antiquated. The SEC is the only major conference using the two-division format in basketball, although there will be discussions this week about eliminating it. At the least, the SEC will consider reseeding teams for its tournament without regard to division standings.

Less cowbell

With billion-dollar TV contracts and the possibility of conference expansion, the inclusion of artificial noisemakers on the agenda list might not sound significant.Try telling that to Mississippi State and its legions of cowbell-clanging fans. The SEC may expand its 1974 ban on noisemakers – possibly slapping fines on schools who ignore the rule. The SEC asked South Carolina to limit use of a piped-in rooster crow at Williams-Brice Stadium several years ago, although cowbells have kept clanging in Starkville. Now that cacophony of cowbells might come with a price.

Carolina Kat
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