The SEC is known as a football conference. That can change with a few well-placed phone calls.
Tennessee’s run into March is a reminder that basketball is well supported and has a rich history in the south. Why not make it better? While there have been so many football fanatics pining for an even better football conference, basketball just chugs along, impressive, championship worthy and profitable.
The supposedly football-first conference will likely place at least eight schools in the NCAA tournament. A whopping ten schools made it last year. At least three schools have a real shot at winning the entire event. Why not add to that total?
While the SEC may have gotten the short end of the stick in televisions deals this time around, imagine if the conference could offer up a network that provided high-level programming year round. Of course, there’s football in the fall and basketball in the spring/summer, but what if the SEC was the best basketball conference in the nation? It could happen.
Whenever the ACC schools get out of their very one-sided television contract, the SEC should make a run at two basketball stalwarts: North Carolina and Duke. Here’s the best part. Both schools are pretty good at football as well – or at least heading in that direction.
North Carolina and Duke might not make for the best football rivals among current SEC schools, but they sure would transform the conference – quick – into a school that is well-known for its basketball prowess, which has already happened to some extent. Adding North Carolina and Duke wouldn’t be my first choice of SEC additions just because they are good at basketball, but if the SEC is going to expand beyond 20 teams, why not throw basketball a bone.
I’ve got nothing against Texas A&M and understand the affinity for playing Auburn with Bruce Pearl at the helm. Also, South Carolina deserves major kudos after what they’ve done this season. However, imagine if the Vols had played Duke and North Carolina in their late-season run instead of the highly rated foursome that the Vols have so far manhandled, with Kentucky up next in Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday. The quality of the opponent doesn’t matter when trying to nab more viewers. The sizzle of playing another basketball blue blood or two is what the SEC should be considering.
Imagine a conference with Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee as your lead basketball schools. That’s a good start to becoming the best basketball conference in the nation. Why not add that to the resume that will always lead with football?
