SEC headed to a big payday in 2010
Destin—Some final thoughts on the annual SEC Spring Meetings, which officially end this afternoon:
Like it not, the SEC is headed into a new, and better, era: Competitively it was another great year for the SEC with national championships in football (Florida), women’s track and field (Tennessee), women’s gymnastics (Georgia) and men’s swimming and diving (Auburn). The league may pick up a few more championships before the spring sports are done.
The SEC has won three straight national championships in football and four of the last six. Florida, the defending champ, will be a consensus No. 1 when the 2009 season begins and gives the league a real chance to make it four straight titles.
But last night when the SEC held its annual awards banquet, Commissioner Mike Slive said that the conference, which a year ago celebrated its 75th anniversary, is headed “into a new and exciting era.”
A big reason for that optimism about the future is the two new television contracts with CBS and ESPN which will begin this fall. Those two contracts alone will pump almost $3 billion (yes, that’s Billion with a B) into the conference over the next 15 years.
Let me put that number into perspective: Later on today the SEC will announce another record for shared revenue from televised football, basketball, and bowl games. A year ago that figure was $127.2 million, or about $10.6 million per school. There will be nice little bump in that today.
But year from today, after the new TV contracts kick in, each school could be receiving in the neighborhood of $17 million or more each.
So while schools in other conferences are going to quit printing media guides and are asking employees to take furloughs, the SEC is going to get an unprecedented infusion of cash.
“Naturally our members are excited about the kind of opportunity this presents,” Slive said. “But we also know that we have to be smart with the resources we have. Nobody is recession proof.”
If you’re a fan of the SEC all this means that the future looks good. If you’re a competitor of the SEC, you know this league is not going to be backing down.
Utah, Boise State to the Rose Bowl? It could happen soon: Over the course of the week I found out that there is an interesting little nugget in the new BCS contract with ESPN, which will begin after the 2010 regular season.
In past contracts if the Rose Bowl lost one of its traditional partners, the Big Ten or Pac-10 champ, to the BCS championship game, it could simply fill with another Big Ten or Pac-10 team that qualified. That’s how a 9-3 Illinois team got to Pasadena two years ago.
But in the new contract, I’m told, there is an interesting clause: The first time in the deal that the Rose loses one of its champions to the BCS title game, that opening will be automatically filled by a Coalition (non-BCS conference) team if one has qualified.
For example: Let’s say Southern Cal wins the Pac-10 and qualifies for the BCS championship game in 2010. And let’s say Utah or Boise State goes undefeated again the wins the Mountain West or WAC. That team, if it doesn’t get into the big game, would automatically go to the Rose, where no Coalition team has played before.
What’s the significance of this, you ask? It is another way that the BCS is increasing access of the five Coalition conferences to all of the games in system. Should the BCS get sued and hauled back before Congress, it is another way it can counter the claim that the Coalition schools don’t have enough access.
Mark your TV calendars: The complete football television picture in the SEC won’t be clear until the league’s preseason media days on July 22-24 in Hoover, Ala. ESPN officials told me they will make a complete presentation then that will make it clear where you can find your favorite games on Saturday.
But just to review: In the new TV deals, CBS will get the first pick from the inventory of games on a given Saturday. The big change is that the rest of the games will belong to ESPN, which is paying the SEC $2.25 billion over the next 15 years for that right. ESPN will place those games on their various platforms (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, ESPN.360 on the internet). The games it cannot televise will go to other outlets such as CSS and FOX Sports South.
CBS has already locked in some dates and times. CBS will begin its ninth year with the SEC by televising Tennessee at Florida on Sept. 19 at 3:30 p.m. Given what has happened since Lane Kiffin got to Tennessee, there may be some interest in that game.
CBS has a pair of doubleheaders planned on Oct. 10 and Nov. 14. Nothing is set in stone but you can pretty much bet that the prime time (8 p.m. Eastern) game on Oct. 10 will be Florida at LSU. I’ll be surprised if the early game (3:30 p.m. Eastern) isn’t Alabama at Ole Miss.
As announced earlier, CBS has moved the Alabama-Auburn game to Friday, Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving. It did that in order to get wider exposure for the game and so that it could also broadcast Florida State at Florida on Nov. 28. If CBS had not made that move, one of those games would have gone to ESPN.
There are some special kids in this league: One of the things that never gets mentioned on the sports pages and sports blogs is that there some incredible kids playing college sports. When you become a mom or dad you start to notice these kinds of things. So bear with me a moment while I get off topic. After all, it is Friday and so I invoke by own rule to stray from the subject of football.
Last night the SEC honored 24 male and female athletes for academic excellence. Two received the Boyd McWhorter scholarships of $15,000 which will be applied to post-graduate study. The female winner was Tennessee swimmer Christine Magnuson, who won two silver medals in the 2008 Olympics while carrying a 3.68 grade point average.
The male winner was Ole Miss tennis star Bram ten Berge, who came to Oxford from his home in the Netherlands. “I knew I wasn’t going to be a pro but I had a chance to get an education by playing tennis,” he said. “We don’t have that in my home country.” Ten Berge graduated with a 3.97 GPA in the Classics and, based on his academic performance at Ole Miss, is headed to Michigan on a full fellowship that will allow him to get his Master’s and Doctorate degrees.
Christine Magnuson made an interesting point to commissioner Slive last night. There were a bunch of Olympians from the SEC in Beijing. Had the SEC been a country, she said, it would have finished fourth in the medal count with a total of 51 behind only the United States (110), China (100), and Russia (72).
Thanks for a great year. See you in July: The end of the SEC meetings also marks the end of the season for Mr. College Football. After visiting with you five days a week since mid-March, I’m going to take a break for a while and return on July 6. If something big happens in college football I’ll jump back in for a day and we’ll chat.
Before I go I really want to thank you ladies and gentlemen. Wherever I travel people say nice things about this blog and the interest in it. I simply tell them that I blog with the most knowledgeable college football fans in the world who are very passionate about their sport. You don’t always agree with me and you shouldn’t. You keep me on my toes. I like that and I appreciate that. It makes me better.
When I get back we will be only three weeks away from SEC Media Days in Birmingham. If you thought Lane Kiffin-Urban Meyer was fun down here, can you imagine what it will be like in front of 700 media people in July?
Be safe. And don’t forget the sunscreen.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
125 comments Add your comment
RAMBLE ON!!!
May 29th, 2009
11:23 am
relative to you, Huh?…I’ll be dumb, clearly you’re dumber.
Justin
May 29th, 2009
11:25 am
LOL @ Tide. I have absolutely nothing to do with any team in Alabama. Good luck Good lu…..on second thought, nevermind. You silly bammers deserve everything you get.
PTC DAWG
May 29th, 2009
11:30 am
Well Tony, thanks for the articles…not much left for me to check out in the AJC now. See you soon…
willie
May 29th, 2009
11:30 am
All you fund raisers talking about the potence of a degree just tell me the percentage of college graduates work their discipline. It is for a piece of paper to keep them from working in inclement weather.
We have lawyers working as investigative reporters on fox, cbs, abc, and msnbc. So much for BA in investigative journalism and so much for your degree–it is only getting your ticket punched.
Athletes can usually retire in their 30’s. I bet you hope to do it in your 50’s.
Gen Neyland
May 29th, 2009
11:35 am
Let’s not make this an Anything Goes Friday. Ignore the political debates for the sake of what we are here for. We’re here to crucify that new coach at UT, over and over again…right..?
TB : Thx for the forum. I counted 1,036,282 posts in your blog since mid-March related to that new coach at Tennessee (I will not envoke his name today in honor of your planned departure). To the Red Elephants, Gators, Lamecrocks, Razorpigs, Tigers all and the rest, have a safe summer and may the SEC flop in the 2009 Fulmer Cup standings…Go Vols
Tide rising
May 29th, 2009
11:35 am
Justin,
I get it. You’re just making stuff up for fun. Oh well. If that’s how you get your jollies then so be it. Good luck to you and whoever you pull for. Rolls Tides.
Tide rising
May 29th, 2009
11:39 am
General Neyland,
Is that all? I thought it would be a couple billion posts relative to the man in orange. You have to admit though that even though its way overblown it has been fun posting about him. Have a good summer.
Gen Neyland
May 29th, 2009
11:43 am
Tide rising : Why do I feel it was but a prelude..?
The Slophouse » Money the talk at SEC spring meetings
May 29th, 2009
11:47 am
[...] Slive will announce what is expected to be another record year for shared revenues in the SEC in today’s final gathering of coaches and athletic directors at the spring meetings. [...]
Rational Citizen
May 29th, 2009
11:52 am
Bamafan…one reason I am for LRT is because I think our policy on marijuana is very misleading to the young kids you see who are hooked on harder drugs. Because we associate marijuana with other hard drugs in terms of its illegality and the messages they see on TV about how it’s going to ruin their lives, if they try it they are going to find out that marijuana is not going to kill them and is not going to ruin their lives. They are then more likely to doubt that other, harder drugs, which can kill them and will ruin their lives, probably aren’t that bad either.
You say you see kids who start off using mary jane and then move on to harder drugs, but I doubt the veracity of that statement. It is more likely that those kids started off either using tobacco or alcohol before they ever tried marijuana. So if your logic is that marijuana should remain illegal because it’s a “gateway drug”, then you should also be actively advocating for the prohibition of tobacco, alcohol, and any other substance that may lead to harder drugs.
I’d also like to ad that this really is a moot argument, because no one is advocating for LRT so that anyone, at any age, at any time can use it. But adults who choose to partake in a responsible manner should have that option without fear of being arrested.
Last Word
May 29th, 2009
12:00 pm
Rational Citizen,
Just four hours and twenty minutes to go!
GT
May 29th, 2009
12:00 pm
Most of the football talent comes out of the southeastern part of the US. Kids want to stay home.
The only thing missing is the coaching talent is not as good as the playing talent. I am talking assistant coaching. You get these nowhere school like Utah or TCU producing mountains of great coaching, even Tech was spitting off a few like the guy in Connecticut, UCF, Maryland and Roof just got fired at Duke and will be a hell of a defensive coach at Auburn. Seems like with all that money they would have the assistant thing tied up better. Georgia is a perfect example. Richt is undeserved by his defensive staff and really by his offensive coordinator too. The offense was better when Richt called the plays. Tuberville had the same problem with his coordinators at the end. Just don’t understand it. I think they might rue the day they let Tommy go but this new guy has some of the best coordinators in the country so sit back and watch they may be good. The talent is so abundant in football now and the scholarships limited so this micromanaging is the secret to winning football. Watch a coach like CPJ ,he brings a herd of people from Navy with him, a lot of these SEC coaches move almost completely by themselves. If Auburn does not do well right off it will be that none of these coaches ever worked together. One of the things that will help Tenn. is a father and son combination. You can trust your assistance. Wonder how many guys trust each other in the high paying, high flying SEC.
Leon "Pooch-Kick" Trotsky
May 29th, 2009
12:02 pm
Rational Citizen
That was like reading War & Peace
Gatorzone
May 29th, 2009
12:03 pm
Good Job on another good year Tony! Have a great Vacation! To all my fellow SEC fans, just disregard all of those jealous wanna be fans of ACC teams. The whole nation knows who has the best Football, and that is what this blog is about!
Rational Citizen, I agree with your premise just not on this blog.
UT, prostitution… I agree too.
Live and let live!!!
GO GATORS!!!!
Bamafan
May 29th, 2009
12:05 pm
Rational Citizen you make some good points, but dope will never been legal in the state of Tennessee
in my lifetime. Hell i can’t believe we have the lottery in Tennesse , which I was for the kids education
to go to college. We better get off the subject before they throw us off the blog and get back to talking
SEC football. Good luck with your crusade!!
RxDawg
May 29th, 2009
12:07 pm
That’s a good point Tony. I am a pretty brilliant and knowledgeable football fan
Have a great summer.
Gatorzone
May 29th, 2009
12:16 pm
Or as our esteemed representative from North Florida says…
“GO GATOR!”
One step ahead of the game « Get The Picture
May 29th, 2009
12:26 pm
[...] step ahead of the game Jump to Comments Check out this fascinating little bit of information Barnhart dishes out today at his blog: Over the course of the week I found out that there is an [...]
Alphare
May 29th, 2009
12:49 pm
Speaking of money, $17mill is NOT a lot. GTech Material Science & Engineering with a mere 40 falcuties attracts $26mill every year. Harvard has endowment fund of $26bil. Its anuual average growth (assuming 4% be average) can reach 1bill, which is 60times of 17mil.
Football is fun, but making money thru sports? I am not sure.
How2fish
May 29th, 2009
12:53 pm
Tony great article have a great summer…not sure which I don’t understand the most..the dope posts..by a dope..or the SEC bashing…the weeks articles were on the SEC spring meetings..not the ACC me thinks there is a LOT of SEC wannabe’s crying and pounding on their..(tiny) chests….I understand the Techies not knowing how to tell the difference..thay tend to spend more time on the UGA blogs than their own…but Mister please..we came here to talk football..not dope legal or otherwise please go away and come back when you understand the difference in Football and Dope..thanks..
Anonymous
May 29th, 2009
1:02 pm
Rational Citizen
Your post sounds like the rambling logic of a dope smoker. Coincidence?
Atlanta Gator
May 29th, 2009
1:04 pm
Thanks for all that you do, Tony! Looking forward to your new columns in July.
Gator Growl
May 29th, 2009
1:07 pm
To all the posters who have nothing better to say every day other than Urban Meyer is going to Notre Dame or Nick Saban is blowing out once Bama goes on probation…please do us all a favor and come up with something new and original by the time TB comes back. Your wishful thinking is getting VERY old and tired…Also have a feeling we won’t be hearing too much from Boy Blabber for a while…heard Slive laid the law down at the meetings and I’m afraid we’re in for a “quiet period” as they say in recruiting…In the meantime, it’s full metal jacket for my Gator Boys who are getting put thru the mill by MM as we speak…Bigger, Faster, Stronger.
Money the talk at SEC spring meetings | MrSEC.com
May 29th, 2009
1:20 pm
[...] Slive will announce what is expected to be another record year for shared revenues in the SEC in today’s final gathering of coaches and athletic directors at the spring [...]
DawginLex
May 29th, 2009
1:47 pm
Rambler,
And you wonder why all Tech people hate you and why your fanbase is vilified by UGA grads? Only great kids come from the ACC? You seriously write this stuff and believe it? My kid is a great kid and she is not going to an ACC school. She is studying to be a doctor BTW.
So from all of BullDAWG nation, KISS MY BULLDAWG @!@*******!!!!@
Anonymous
May 29th, 2009
2:10 pm
ACCgrad,
With intelligence comes the commensurate responsibility of grace, understanding, tolerance and generosity.
Apparently, you didn’t get that memo.
TECH FAN
May 29th, 2009
2:37 pm
Anonymous,
thanks for that pathetic piece of poetry. you really outdid yourself on that one, didnt you?
to everyone else, congratulations on your TV contract. while you are slaving away flipping burgers, you can laugh at that stupid jealous Tech kid that has a great career. stupid him. he should have gone to an SEC school where they got some football, yall!! Thats where real men live. SEC land. “I dont care bout no edumacation, I just want to be able to park my truck in a parking lot once a week in the fall, forget about my worthless life, and enjoy a meaningless victory of a team that i dont play for and could give a rats b*** that i exist.”
SEC RULES!!!! You guys rock on this blog. I mean, you have so much support. We really could learn from you all. Why in the heck did I waste my time going to Tech when I could have been partying with the rest of you rednecks? oh yeah, because I had this little thing called a brain.
Pathetic.
LK
May 29th, 2009
2:44 pm
I’m posting this from a recruit’s Blackberry: Coarch Urban Meyers a cheetah.
Anonymous
May 29th, 2009
2:54 pm
Brilliant retort, Einstein.
Anonymous
May 29th, 2009
2:59 pm
“. . . because I had this little thing called a brain.”
All evidence to the contrary.
RAMBLE ON!!!
May 29th, 2009
3:05 pm
dawginLex, congratulations on your daughter. You are, and should be proud.
If she studies hard, maybe she can transfer to Duke.
NEXT#13
May 29th, 2009
3:23 pm
autigger,BAMA will go on probation the you barner’s win a MNC !!!
NEXT#13
May 29th, 2009
3:24 pm
HINT TO au tigger……IT AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN !!!
G8R GRAD
May 29th, 2009
3:34 pm
Co-hosting a neighborhood party this evening (band, burgers,beer).
Hope all have a great weekend!
Even you delightful ACC fans.
Got 12?
May 29th, 2009
3:34 pm
The other conferences don’t have to wait until next year’s television contracts start to be jealous:
For the 19th consecutive year, the SEC announced a record in revenue sharing at the end of its annual spring meetings here today. The league will distribute about $132.5 million to its 12 member institutions via its revenue sharing plan for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
The $132.5 million was derived from $52 million from football television, $25.4 million from bowls, $14.3 million from the SEC Championship Game, $13.6 million from basketball television, $4.1 million from the men’s basketball tournament and $23.1 million from NCAA Championships.
sundawg
May 29th, 2009
3:36 pm
Tony,
Will you do your radio show over the summer, and if so, where can I find it?
SEC Doles Out the Dough | Blogging on the Arkansas Razorbacks
May 29th, 2009
3:36 pm
[...] important, it’s going to get even better next season when the league’s enormous television contracts with CBS and ESPN kick in. The league [...]
buckblue
May 29th, 2009
4:47 pm
Roulx…Tide…..around the bowl and down the hole….
jumbeauxtiger
May 29th, 2009
5:20 pm
Great article Tony and I will miss your blogs. Have an enjoyable summer!
Geaux Tigers!
Go SEC!
Dawgman
May 29th, 2009
8:09 pm
Looking forward to the 2009 season, but not the new ESPN contract. I’ll miss the old Raycom games that were on free TV every week. They had just upgraded to HD last season too. With my basic cable I only get ESPN and ESPN 2 so now I will have to upgrade to get all the ESPN channels, probably to only pick up a couple of games I am interested in. Plus I got the Raycom HD signal for free and now I will have to pay extra for an HD package. Bummer
Bearcatbob
May 29th, 2009
9:09 pm
As a fan of the 2008 Big East Champions and the deal that ESPN has with the BE to televise all BE games, it will be interesting to watch the reaction when ESPN places games on ESPN 360 and a lot people dont have access to ESPN 360 based on the ISP they have. If its similar to the Big East, the games that are on ESPN 360 cannot be broadcast on any other tv station except maybe the College Gameday package. Cant wait to see what happens when that happens to rabid SEC fan when they cant watch their school one or more Saturdays. The ESPN deal with the Big East which involves both football and basketball and is similar to the SEC one might be good for the schools but it is not for fans.
nerds helper
May 29th, 2009
11:26 pm
you guys do now the SEC went 4-6 agains the ACC last season? ok, just checking
nerds helper
May 29th, 2009
11:27 pm
now = know
Nachos
May 29th, 2009
11:59 pm
When is Autiger going to seek help for being such a dooouche bag barner?
Nachos
May 30th, 2009
12:01 am
Hey Autiger two words… GENE CHIZIK. The End.
SC Rules!!!
May 30th, 2009
2:15 am
Tony,
I really enjoy the blog, can’t wait for the new season to begin! Relax and catch up on the simpler pleasures of life. See ya in July!
SEC Fans: Don’ worry too much about my beloved Rose Bowl, she’ll be just fine in SC’s abscence this coming January. Coach Tedford and the Cal Bears will keep the home fires burning while we skin some Lizard in the BCS title game! Urban Sprawl, don’t look now but Coach Carroll is in the FLA closing the deal on a few MORE 4 & 5 star recruits for the 2010 signing class. Told ya not to look. Fight On!
p.s PAC-10 (5-0) during bowl season against all conferences!
SC Rules!!!
May 30th, 2009
2:22 am
Coach Kiffin;
Tell your son to quit filling up Coach Carroll’s voice mail with pleas to be taken back.
Vol fan: See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya! Man are we glad he’s “your” problem now!
Fight On! Trojans #1 SC Rules!!!
SC Rules!!!
May 30th, 2009
2:30 am
The SC Trojans Rock!!!!! All them FLA high schoolers just jonesin to come out to Cali baby and roll with the cool one himself, Coach Carroll. Goin to Cali baby, they’re goin to Cali!!! Don’t hate the playa, hate the game, ’cause y’all gonna get gamed for sure come January! Fight On!!
SC Rules!!!
May 30th, 2009
2:39 am
SEC fans, y’all been jumpin’ out your skin at the thought that my beloved TROJANS are gonna be slammed by the NCAA; well sorry to bust yur bubbles, but not gonna happen. Then again y’all in the chain gang, (oops) I meant the SEC; WOULD know all about PROBATION wouldn’t ya?!?
(shane #1, how goes it Bud? You know I’m just havin’ some fun bustin VOL/Lizard fans b@lls here during the “dead zone” before fall practice. I don’t mean no mess, just havin’ a little fun!)
Fight On!
warjacket
May 30th, 2009
7:25 am
I too am going to miss the games on Raycom. Hopefully ESPN will bring on the Dave’s. If not, it will be like watching all those Fox announcers doing the BCS games that collectively know squat about college football.