Let’s do a mailbag! And how would Tech fit in the SEC?
That’s right I used an exclamation point in the headline. That’s how excited I am about doing our second e-mail mailbag.
Send me any question you may have about any Georgia Tech sport and I’ll do my best to provide you an insightful answer.
I’ll post the answers on a blog on Tuesday at lunchtime. That’s Tuesday at lunchtime. There was some confusion about the publication of the answers when we did the last mailbag.
—
Now, on to the pie-in-the-sky topic that esteemed colleague (to borrow Mark Bradley’s phrase) Tony Barnhart broached last week.
As many of you know, expansion is the topic du jour for several conferences. The Big 10 has openly said it’s considering it. The SEC said it has reviewed scenarios. I await an answer from the ACC if it too has reviewed or is reviewing scenarios.
Should one or two of the conferences make a move, Barnhart suggested that the SEC may turn to the ACC and try and lure Clemson and Georgia Tech, among others, into the fold.
While I think that Clemson and FSU (the other possibility) would be natural fits because of the stadium sizes and geographic footprint of the fan bases, I’m not sure that Tech would. I’m also not sure that they would want to, unless it came to that.
Financially, it’s a no-brainer. Thanks to ESPN’s largess, SEC schools pull in the second-highest per school revenues behind those from the Big 10, which has its own TV network funding the athletics department.
The ACC is in the process of negotiating new TV deals for football and men’s basketball. It’s unlikely to pull in the $2 billion over 15 years that ESPN pledged to the SEC.
While Tech was once a founding member of the SEC, I would be very surprised to see the dominoes fall in such a way that find Tech back in the fold.
Some comparative stats, courtesy of Wikipedia (so take them with a grain of salt). These are meant for talking points only:
College/Metro pop./Year founded/Affiliation/Enrollment/Joined
University of Florida/ (114,916)/1853/Public/51,474/1932
University of Georgia/ (113,398)/1785/Public/34,180/1932
University of Kentucky/ (282,114)/1865/Public/26,054/1932
University of South Carolina/ (127,029)/1801/Public/27,488/1991
University of Tennessee/ (184,802)/1794/Public/30,410/1932
Vanderbilt University/ (596,462)/1873/Private/12,093/1932
Western Division
University of Alabama/ (90,221)/1831/Public/27,014/1932
University of Arkansas/ (73,372)/1871/Public/19,849/1991
Auburn University/ (56,088)/1856/Public/24,530/1932
Louisiana State University/ (223,689)/1860/Public/28,810/1932
University of Mississippi/ (17,265)/1848/Public/15,289/1932
Mississippi State University/ (24,187)/1878/Public/17,824/1932
Georgia Tech/5,000,000+/1885/Public/12,966/1885
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432 comments Add your comment
supersize that order, mutt
April 29th, 2010
4:25 pm
“Get your facts straight,” that is 100% CORRECT. But refresh my memory–who or what were the “junction boys”?
DaveDawg
April 29th, 2010
4:44 pm
The SEC doesn’t want Tech. They should band with Memphis, Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida and, eventually, Georgia State to form a league of lame city-campus schools.
Reality Check
April 29th, 2010
4:50 pm
The SEC would never want a school like GT. They already have Vanderbilt why bring in another mediocre team. The SEC already has the Atlanta market, there are ten times more UGA, Auburn, UF fans in Metro Atlanta than GT fans. GT is nice program better suited for the ACC than the SEC. For all of your put downs towards UGA, you have lost 8/9 to them so I would just shut my mouth about Georgia. Kinda like UGA fans should keep quiet about UF until they can at least win more than once every five years.
Pitbull
April 29th, 2010
4:51 pm
Tech came crawling back to the SEC in the early 1980’s asking for readmittance after they failed miserably as an independent following Bobby Dodd pulling Tech out of the SEC in 1966.
The SEC told them to go to hell and they did – straight to the ACC.
Tech thought they were too good for the SEC in 1966 and although the media may have short memories of convenience, the SEC does not.
We do not want the Tech scum in our conference. Let them join the Sunbelt Conference. THWGT
Tech Guy
April 29th, 2010
4:53 pm
Tech should not return to the “Knucklehead League”.
Big B CH 99
April 29th, 2010
4:54 pm
I’m a Tech student and I think if the opportunity arosed to rejoin the SEC we’d have to take it. This is assuming that the re-alignment happens like it’s been talked about, & the ACC is completely raided, like Clem, FSU, & Miami all leaving. If that happened we have to go, if not become one of the only good teams in a conference that may lose it’s BCS standing. No Clem, FSU, or Miami & the ACC probably is no longer a BCS conf. so GT would have to go. If U ever want to compete nationally U can’t be the only good team in a bad conference (Boise will never play for a NC b/c of this)
UGASlobberknocker
April 29th, 2010
4:56 pm
I think Tech belongs in the SEC and would like to see it; I think most of their fans would like that as well. But it will never happen. The academic snob factor at Tech will keep them in the ACC where they can pretend like they are on the same academic level as Duke and Wake Forest(when actually their SAT freshman average is much closer to UGA then to those two schools..you can look it up).. Also being in the ACC lets Tech continue to have a ready made excuse any time that they suck..which ,last yr notwithstanding, is most of the time. It is the classic Tech crutch and theyre not gonna let it go. .
BAMA STAN
April 29th, 2010
4:58 pm
13 NATIONAL TITLES – 22 SEC TITLES!!!
I would love to see GT back in the SEC!!!
for many reasons!
- Geographically – a great fit
- Tradition
- GT would be competitive an all sports
- Economics – MAAASIVE is correct!!! GT would sell out home games against FLORIDA, TENNESSEE, AUBURN, ALABAMA, LSU, South Carolina, – and would be huge for GT.
- SELFISH – I love LIVE college football – and can not make it to Tuscaloosa for every game. Having BAMA rotate to Atlanta would be fantastic – and I would ove to go to Bobby Dodd to take in Florida/GT or Auburn/GT or Tennessee/GT or LSU/GT!!!!
TECH FANS – remember your home and home against AUBURN – you guys beat them twice!!!!! Bobby Dodd rocked!!!! Tech Fans were incredible!!
Now I ask you TECH fans – do you really – I mean really get excited when NC STATE, DUKE, WAKE, VIRGINIA, BC, UNC – VISIT BOBBY DODD?
Look at the convenience of travel for road games – if you want to watch GT play the following:
ALABAMA – 3 hours
AUBURN – 100 minutes
FLORIDA – 6 hours
Georgia – 90 minutes
South Carolina – 3 hours
Tennessee – 3-1/2 hours
your closest ACC oppoenent – CLEMSON – 2-1/2 hours – everyone else is 4 hours plus!!!
Would love to see GT back in the SEC!!!!
BigTimeTechFan
April 29th, 2010
5:07 pm
BAMA STAN – very good post, only issue is basketball we get ACC schedule which is more appealing then SEC.
Technophobia
April 29th, 2010
5:11 pm
Been there, done that and we won 5 SEC championships while we were there. We’d start beating UGA every year though because we’d still be the better school but we’d also be in the best conference so we would out recruit UGA and show them how to make use of all those 4 and 5 star recruits.
CDAWG
April 29th, 2010
5:14 pm
I think it would be a win for Tech to come back to the SEC. The ACC just doesn’t stack up to the SEC. I also think with Tech in the SEC it would help their recruiting, well sort of; they have to get rid of that little league offense first.
MACRO
April 29th, 2010
5:21 pm
Adding GT to the SEC might mean that many more SEC games on TV,
and more TV money.
RAMBLE ON!!!
April 29th, 2010
5:21 pm
CDAWG, your fleabags haven’t stopped that “little league offense” yet.
Techster
April 29th, 2010
5:21 pm
I’m in – no academic snob here – it’s an athletic conference that we were a founding member of and conpeted well in.
Convenience, Economics – and Big Time football – hell yes – I am in!!!
Also – last I heard – Vandy was rated as a top 20 Private school, Both UGA and Florida are top 25 Public Universities. GT is considered a top 10 public university – although we are a techincal institution (semantics).
Big B CH 99
April 29th, 2010
5:23 pm
It would help Tech basketball, instead of having to play the likes of Duke, UNC, & Maryland we get to play Kentucky and everyone else. With a real coach, GT & UK could dominate SEC basketball
Bama2010
April 29th, 2010
5:25 pm
If the Big10 expands Tech will be in the SEC by 2012 book it.
Alphare
April 29th, 2010
5:26 pm
If my research has much merit, Tech was better than UGA when Tech was part of SEC. I bet Tech will be back to its old glory if rejoin. Tech will be able to recruit better in SEC, and tons of Atlanta fans will be automatically Tech fans instead of UGA fans.
Atlanta is a major metro and college football capital. Tech is right at the center of football world, while UGA resides in a little sleepy town without even a major highway.
Yea, Tech rejoining SEC makes a lot of sense. Let’s play in Georgia Dome.
BAMA STAN
April 29th, 2010
5:40 pm
13 NATIONAL TITLES – 22 SEC TITLES!!!
BigTimeTechFan – you are correct – a trade off – basketball over football. football over basketball …..hmmmm!!!
Basketball National Titles:
last 5 years – acc 2, sec 2, b12 1
last 10 years – acc 4, bEast3, sec 2,b12 1, b10 1
last 16 years – sec 5, acc 4, bEast3, p10 2, b10, 1 b12 1.
no arguement on the deeper which conference has deeper talent – but sec can hold its own.
Just saying – I would like to see GT back in the SEC – wish they never left.
mike
April 29th, 2010
5:40 pm
The ACC saved GT when they were down, but unfortunately the ACC is spread out too far to develop good natural rivalries. If the ACC would change their divisions (North / South) and let GT play FSU, Clemson, Miami, Wake, and NCST every year, there would be no need to go to the SEC. Football wise, a southern ACC division would mirror the SEC East Division. Most GT fans just don’t care about playing Duke, UNC, and UVA every year. However, if given the choice, I’d prefer being back in the SEC. True most of the SEC schools have mega-stadiums, but GT’s lesser numbers may be more intense than lots of SEC fans give them credit for.
Warp Drive 1
April 29th, 2010
5:44 pm
I would want GT back in – SEC is the best football conference – and we are in the best location to be an SEC team. I was at the GT Auburn game – best game I have ever been to – totally electric – and the Auburn fans were great.
As for basketball – Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Vandy are no push overs – would be fun!
supersize that order, mutt
April 29th, 2010
5:48 pm
I’m with you, mike, but I think if Tech were back in the SEC, stadium enlargement or replacement would be only a few years down the road. Don’t want to play in the GA Dome, but we might have to until we could get a suitably sized on-campus stadium. However, the way the east side of the stadium is built, a third level might be a possiblity there, and that alone would increase the capacity substantially.
Yakko
April 29th, 2010
6:11 pm
Wiley, your argument against moving to the SEC hinged on not dropping your academic standards for recruiting athletes. However, when confronted with the low graduation rate of your football team, your counterargument was that “70% of the regular students” graduated. While that’s all well and good, it still doesn’t address the low graduation rate among athletes. Your argument that academics among athletes would drop if GT were in the SEC holds no water if the academics for athletes are that bad already.
And please don’t throw that one guy on the football team who’s an aerospace engineering major into this conversation. One guy does not make a rigorous standard appear when there is none.
Georgia Tech — 27% graduation rate among football players.
So tell me again why y’all can’t come play big boy football with us? I want GT in the SEC, I want the UGA-GT to be earth shattering like TX-OU or BAMA-AU. Don’t you too?
Go Dawgs.
y
April 29th, 2010
6:15 pm
BamaStan the ACC has 5 in the last ten years. Duke(2001, 2010) Maryland(2002) and UNC(2005, 2009).
BAMA STAN
April 29th, 2010
6:21 pm
13 NATIONAL TITLES – 22 SEC TITLES!!!
y – YOU ARE CORRECT! Sorry about that – I left out Duke this year!
At any rate – the SEC is not as deep in basketball – but on any given year – we do hold our own – every conference will have a bad year.
Still – would love to have GT back in the SEC!
wiley
April 29th, 2010
6:25 pm
Hey I am all for joining the SEC. I just know the realities of recruiting at GT. Its a tough school academically…….even for the people who were great students with 1300+ SATs and valedictorians….I can tell you this from personal experience. These are the facts that I know…so how is my argument flawed again? Georgia Tech is a hard school where athletes struggle…it should also be mentioned that those results are compiled in a window no longer than six years. Most regular students take 6 years to graduate…especially when you switch majors.
Tech man
April 29th, 2010
6:27 pm
Tech is a top 10 team!! and uga is a top 35 team.With that said I don’t think Tech should merge into the sec beause that would take some of the fun out of the rivalry game and the sec ACC fight.
SILLY UGA FANS
April 29th, 2010
6:28 pm
yakko,
Just curios where you got your numbers and why you only want to post what you say is GTs %, but nothing for the dawgs. Not saying you are wrong, but I would like to see a link to know you are not pulling % from your arse. I believe you asked what degree Morgan, Dwyer, Thomas, and Burnett were getting. I have no idea if any of these young men are going to finish school, though they should, and I would also ask you how many UGA players that left early went back and finished. Have you seen Stafford around campus lately? I don’t get into the GT degree is better than UGA degree, it all depends what you are going to college for because they are both good schools.
UGA WHO?
April 29th, 2010
6:30 pm
Wait a minute, did i see a uga fan say we need to man up to uga first? Well seems to me 4 national titles, 3 acc championships, 5 sec championships from back when we and ala ran the sec and we just swept you in baseball. Come on dude, get a clue. Gt is a better overall program then uga is anyday…..and your known as a football school and we have more titles then you. Now what? Lmmfao!!
UGA WHO?
April 29th, 2010
6:33 pm
georgia tech just swept uga again in baseball…man this gets old beating uga in two of the 3 main sports…true you did win this year in basketball, but we win most. look at the overall series between uga and gt in baseball, basketball and football…then call me.
Tech man
April 29th, 2010
6:39 pm
UGA WHO..uga fans would not believe those stats..they think they are the best in there minds!!
SILLY UGA FANS
April 29th, 2010
6:44 pm
yakko,
This is an article I found and though it does state that GT is in the low catagory it’s not the 27% you claim.
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Tech tied with Texas for the lowest
graduation rate of any top 10 football team, according to the
NCAA’s latest report on the academic success of student athletes.
Texas, which is third in the BCS standings, and Georgia Tech,
which is seventh, each graduated 49 percent of their football
players who started classes from 1999-2002, meaning they earned
their diplomas within six years. Georgia Tech’s rate improved
slightly from 48 percent in last year’s report.
The University of Georgia’s graduation rate of football players
improved from 48 percent in the 2008 report to 57 percent.
Georgia graduated only 18 percent of its men’s basketball
players in the time frame, according to the NCAA figures. Georgia
Tech graduated 38 percent of its basketball players.
SILLY UGA FANS
April 29th, 2010
6:48 pm
If you can’t tell by the #7 ranking that was posted last year 11/09. Also just so you know players that transfer or enter drafts do not count toward that % as long as they are in good academic standing.
PirateOnPtree
April 29th, 2010
6:51 pm
No thanks, you can have the redneck conference to yourselves.
PEACHTREE ST.
April 29th, 2010
6:54 pm
LOL!!!! You mean the same GT that tucked tail and ran out of the SEC thanks to that coward Bobby Dodd since he went 1-6 against the Bear? Please, we know how this story ends. Especially since Tech fans like to preach how crappy UGA is, the same UGA they can’t ever beat!!!!
blake
April 29th, 2010
6:55 pm
Of course yechies don’t graduate. Heck, Dwyer “supposedly” has ADD but yet we’re supposed to believe he hung around Tech for 3 or 4 years “taking” classes? yeah right.
supersize that order, mutt
April 29th, 2010
6:57 pm
blake, do you have proof to the contrary? If not, then STFU
supersize that order, mutt
April 29th, 2010
6:58 pm
Peachtree St, you’re a little late with your incorrect reasons for why Dodd pulled out of the SEC. That was covered comprehensively earlier this afternoon, and the losing record to the Bear had nothing to do with it. So, as I said to blake, get your facts straight or STFU
y
April 29th, 2010
7:13 pm
Hey Blake there is thing called medicine. Its new you should try it.
Technophobia
April 29th, 2010
7:26 pm
I started at Tech in 1980. At orientation they told us to look at the person on our right and then look at the person on our left. They then said “If you graduate, the two people you just looked at statistically will not graduate”. They were illustrating the fact that back then only about 1 out of 3 incoming freshmen would graduate and I remember them dropping like flies during the first year and to a lesser extent the second year. I don’t know what the current graduation rate for incoming freshmen is but if the athletes are graduating at a comparable or higher rate than the general student population I think the school is doing its job. Comparing Tech’s graduation rate to some of these diploma mills distorts the picture dramatically.
supersize that order, mutt
April 29th, 2010
7:43 pm
Technophobia, I got the same introduction to Tech in 1962. I don’t know about the two on either side of me, but I made it
kb
April 29th, 2010
7:47 pm
No Tech , no advantage adding a mid level program.
We own you
April 29th, 2010
7:52 pm
30-24
Don’t forget: we own you
supersize that order, mutt
April 29th, 2010
7:53 pm
the SEC already has several mid-level programs, including UGAG
AlabamaRamblinwreck
April 29th, 2010
7:55 pm
Wiley is soooooooo right about Tech profs and the difficulty in getting a degree from the Institute.
Also, I won’t say this very often, because although married to one, I don’t agree with Bammers very often. But BamaStan is absolutely correct in his posts.
AlabamaRamblinwreck
April 29th, 2010
7:56 pm
And for you UGAGGERS, I also attended your school, and the undergrad courses there are like comparing a kindergarten to a high school….if you compare the difficulty with what I saw at Tech.
Stinger
April 29th, 2010
8:04 pm
hahahahahhaahhahahahahahah.I realy think that is a good joke!!!!
CatsFly
April 29th, 2010
8:05 pm
Hey, as far as I know, no one from the ACC wants to join the SEC and vice versa. If they do, let them stand up.
broken Stinger
April 29th, 2010
8:05 pm
WE couldn’t make it in the SEC. That is big boy football and we can barely fill the stadium.
kb
April 29th, 2010
8:10 pm
How can a program that loses year after year after year talk any smack bumblebee
SoCal Dawg
April 29th, 2010
8:23 pm
Tech stands to lose a lot. If the SEC adds 4 teams I don’t see Tech being one of those 4, not because of skill but because of money. After the SEC takes FSU, VT maybe Miami and Clemson that leaves Tech in a really bad football conference.