To demonstrate overall athletic excellence by the SEC see the info I cobbled together below. The primary purpose was to look at trends. Nothing mind-blowing here, just confirming what most know that some may not acknowledge primarily due to loyalty and emotional attachments. There is a common denominator.
Ladies go first:
All SEC ladies 2017 basketball tourney final. We know about UT's dominance prior to the past 6-7 years. Coaching matters.
Last 9/10 years SEC ladies softball WS final participants, winning 3 NC's. Coaching matters.
Men:
3/8 SEC Elite 8 men's 2017 basketball tourney participants. In the past 11 years and since Louisville did not join the ACC until 7/14, the "basketball conference" ACC has the same number of NC titles (3) and 2 less FF appearances (6) in the same time period as the SEC's 8. Coaching matters. Sidenotes: the Selection Committee's anti-SEC bias is proven in this sport. We tend to trash our own 19 win teams when other conferences get theirs in. Also, UT has never participated in a FF.
Men's SEC baseball teams participated in 8/10 past WS championships finals, winning 4. Coaching matters.
SEC football teams played for NC's 9 of the past 11 years, winning 8. UF has 14 SEC East Division champion, or co-champion titles since 1992 when divisions formed. UGA has 7, UT has 6. Coaching matters.
In each men's sport, be in the top 3 in the SEC and you will have legitimate opportunities to play for NC's regularly. There is one SEC school that has done that regularly in the three primary men's sports over the past decade or so - UF.