TrueOrange
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Last week at the women's tournament in Nashville. (sorry this is a few days late).
SEC will discuss switching to nine football games, but there's not much initial support | al.com
They're expected to discuss future scheduling again at the men's tournament in New Orleans.
SEC will discuss switching to nine football games, but there's not much initial support | al.com
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The SEC scrambled to create a 2012 football schedule. Now come the harder, long-term questions from 14 different perspectives.
SEC athletics directors meet Wednesday in Nashville to discuss future scheduling options in many sports, especially football. They will discuss going to nine SEC football games, although there's not much initial support.
"I think everything has to be on the table, including playing nine games, which I know terrifies some people when you say it," Tennessee Athletics Director Dave Hart said. "I do want to talk about nine games."
Discussions probably will focus on the number of SEC games, whether to keep permanent partners from opposite divisions, and if so, how to schedule them, said Larry Templeton, chairman of the SEC transition committee. The SEC has not decided how long it wants the next scheduling plan, starting in 2013, to last.
The ADs will review six or seven formats during Wednesday's work session, and Templeton didn't rule out a vote. They meet again next week at the SEC men's basketball tournament.
At least one AD, Mississippi State's Scott Stricklin, believes the SEC must be creative in scheduling for 14 members, noting that the league's predecessors developed a model in the early 1990s so that teams played each other more often.
"I think the fans enjoyed it and it served its purpose really well," Stricklin said. "They didn't get stuck in the past."
The challenge becomes how to move the SEC forward into a new era while preserving the past and building consensus.
"There's no easy solution, unfortunately," Georgia AD Greg McGarity said. "There are so many moving pieces that there will be some lively discussions."
The SEC agreed to play eight games with a 6-1-1 model for at least 2012. That means a team plays six divisional games, one permanent cross-division opponent and one rotating cross-division team.
The model protects Alabama-Tennessee and Auburn-Georgia annually, but means it would take 12 years to play every team from the other division, compared to five years now. Fans and TV may frown on more infrequent high-profile games.
McGarity said most SEC ADs and coaches want to stick with eight games, but he supports at least discussing nine games.
"Many SEC fans have a decision whether to come to our game, or sit at home in front of their 60-inch HDTV," McGarity said. "Would they be more likely to come to a conference game as opposed to a guaranteed (nonconference) game? I'd probably say yes."
They're expected to discuss future scheduling again at the men's tournament in New Orleans.