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
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|||||||
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
432 comments Add your comment
supersize that order, mutt
April 30th, 2010
10:35 am
Joe, Florida has already indicated that they would welcome it….at least the sources I have read say so. What’s good for the rivalry is good for each school. UGAG is too self-centered, and living in a fantasy world that makes them think they are king of the hill to realize common-sense things like that. If the SEC were to expand (no guarantee that they will) and UGAG vetoed Tech’s re-entrance, I can assure you they would be the brunt of jokes and criticism NATIONWIDE. ESPN would not let it go.
Buzzzed
April 30th, 2010
10:39 am
Tech AA would benefit from joining the SEC from the ESPN money and all the games would be sellouts.
Tech BBall would contend for an SEC championship most years. I don’t think recruiting would be hurt by leaving the ACC and the ACC refs are really bad and biased.
I would travel to more away games (FL, Auburn, SC, TN). I would miss Clem and FSU.
I don’t see Tech benefiting the SEC too much though.
supersize that order, mutt
April 30th, 2010
10:41 am
Buzzed, they let South Carolina and Arkansas in after earlier vetoing Tech’s reentrance. Does anybody realistically think that SC or Ark benefitted the SEC more than Tech would have?
supersize that order, mutt
April 30th, 2010
10:42 am
Enter your comments here
supersize that order, mutt
April 30th, 2010
10:43 am
For that matter, how do Vandy, UK, Miss State, or even UGAG last year benefit the SEC?
Nothing but the Truth
April 30th, 2010
10:45 am
I am not so sure GT would fit in with the rest of the SEC thugs. To play in the SEC, you need to attract a certain kind of player – one with a criminal record, an IQ in single digits, and in terms of talent, basically a player that tops out in college and is a bust in the NFL. No Thanks
dawgfan
April 30th, 2010
10:47 am
I didn’t conveniently leave out anything. Even Vandy has beaten Georgia and Mark Richt. How do they fare in the SEC East year in and year out? You’re the one conveniently leaving out your 8 losses to Georgia in the past 9 years. You’re the one leaving out your embarassing recent bowl record. What is it, 5 losses in a row? We win bowl games in the SEC. Your crap program wouldn’t fit in. You’re the one conveniently leaving out the 38-3 beatdown at the hands of a team with an SEC losing record in ‘08. You’re the one pounding your chest over big wins over Vandy and Miss. St. You think your sissy little program can succeed in the SEC? The SEC has the best BCS bowl record of any conference BY FAR and you come on here acting like we’re afraid to play people and just want to protect “the brand.” The brand is WINNING clown. Tech’s brand is getting humiliated in bowl games, losing to Georgia, and beating 8-5 teams in a conference title game. You think you would face an 8-5 team in the SECCG clown? You think you could go on the road to the Swamp, Death Valley, and Bryant Denny and get it done big mouth? Your sissy football team couldn’t even beat Wake freaking Forest in regulation last year at your own joke of a stadium. You Tech fans are simply smoking crack rock if you think Tech could do anything in the SEC. No offense to crack addicts.
Tech fans are all mouth. If they did join the SEC all the loser crybaby academic excuses would reach a fever pitch. No thanks I say. We don’t want your miserable bowl record, boring high school offense, and half empty 50,000 seat stadium in our league. Most of all Tech fans, we don’t want YOU in our league. You are an embarassment.
Class dismissed.
Joe
April 30th, 2010
10:52 am
Hey Mike Slive, you maybe want to mention why you think I don’t know what I’m talking about?
Because you sure haven’t said anything to counter it…
FACT
April 30th, 2010
10:57 am
70% of UGag’s CURRENT football roster was admitted
under the “Special Admissions.”
Without this “Special Admissions” program of admitting THE MOST academically deficient prospects this “fine” state has seen fit to “socially promote” out of our woefully indicate high-schools,
UGag wouldnt even be able to field a football team.
Joe
April 30th, 2010
10:58 am
Well said dawgfan.
supersize that order, mutt
April 30th, 2010
11:00 am
dawgfan, you should know about whining and making excuses. That’s all the mutts have ever done since they first started playing football. Hell, you even look for reasons not to count games that you lose (Tech in the WWII years), even though not a single other school in the country who lost to a school with players like Tech had even complained about it. You call every game you lose a fluke or try to blame it on referees. You are the crybabies of the SEC, if not the entire country. You may have the better record against Tech, and you may LATELY have better bowl-game success (that’s only LATELY), but you are the laughing stock of the SEC the past couple of years and totally irrelevant within even the eastern division of that conference. If you think you are so much better than Tech, then why would you not want us in the SEC east with you, since (at least according to the likes of you) it would improve your placement in that division. Of course, you and I know that it wouldn’t do that, because the 8 out of 9 thing is in the past, and you are only 1-1 since CPJ arrived. So I propose that you are SCARED of what Tech MIGHT bring to the table, and that’s why you don’t want any part of it.
supersize that order, mutt
April 30th, 2010
11:04 am
BTW, dawgfan, at least Tech won in OT against Wake, but UGAG couldn’t even beat UK who lost to the second-place team in the ACC. What’s your excuse for that one? And if you think Tech’s offense is boring, then you obviously have never even watched it. How could any offense that averages 30+ points a game possibly be considered boring???
Gator CHOMP Champ
April 30th, 2010
11:08 am
I see why GA fans say GT fans have Napoleon complexes…funny stuff supersize.
supersize that order, mutt
April 30th, 2010
11:16 am
CHOMP, what did I say that wasn’t true?
Sean
April 30th, 2010
11:24 am
I think 12 is where the limit should be. When you start diluting, it’s a negative. 14 is the absolute max that might work. 12 is perfect imo
Todd
April 30th, 2010
11:27 am
Imagine this conference
Gt, uga, uf, miami, fsu, aub, bama, tenn, sc, clem, miss, miss st, texas, texas am.
you could rename it national championship conference.
Greg
April 30th, 2010
11:34 am
one other thing that is bad for expanding over 12 teams. you know how there’s always talk about how 2 teams from the same conf shouldn’t and can’t meet in the nat champ game from the same conf. it works with 12. but when you go to 14 and especially 16, you are going to have on occasion the 2 best teams in the same conference. the law of averages state this. and will they still not allow it? you will also have teams that win a conference play a weak schedule, that’s what happens with dilution. so a team could play an easy reg season, maybe playing 1 ranked team, then only have to win their conf champ game while another team from the same conf other division didn’t get in the conf champ but are more worthy. teams not winning conf but being ranked higher for the nat champ will also be an issue. the only way to get around that would be to do a playoff. you’d have to and it would have to be 16 teams and conf champ + at large get in. it’s going to be a mess i think if the big 10 goes for 14+
Gator CHOMP Champ
April 30th, 2010
11:35 am
supersize, bash GA all you want, I love it. Saying that a team that has owned you guys is scared about what you’ll bring to the table? That’s like saying that FL is scared of anything that GA brings to the table. It’s just kinda funny. You guys have the same little man syndrome that GA has with us. Careful what you say about a (lower tier SEC) team that’s owned you.
BigDawg
April 30th, 2010
11:36 am
We don’t want Tech in the SEC again! They won two National titles while in either the SEC or the Southern Conference before that in which we also were members and they won two more National titles than we did! We did not win ours till 1980 and GT left the SEC in the 60’s. We do not need them to be able to recruit better based on being a member of the SEC since then we’d likely lose to them as often as we lose to Florida. Keep Yech in the ACC! Period!!!
Gator CHOMP Champ
April 30th, 2010
11:37 am
Kinda like those black helmets that GA wore to the FL game to support their little man syndrome. How’d that work out for ya GA fans?
dawgfan
April 30th, 2010
11:45 am
Its never what you Techies say Supersize. Its always what you DON’T say. For instance, what did Georgia do the week after that embarassing loss to Kentucky that you Techies love to run your big mouths about? Here’s a few hints: #7 team in country. 330 yard rushing. 1st round NFL draft pick chokes and drops wide open pass. Game over.
See Supersize. You talk about WWII. You talk about beating Georgia in 2008. You talk a big game about the future and how Manboobs is going to do this and he’s going to do that. You Tech fans talk a lot. You’ll never hear me say otherwise. I have never seen a group of fans with bigger mouths and absolutely nothing to back it up in my life. So talk, talk, talk all you want Techie. I’ll keep talking about how we wipe the damn floor with your sorry azzes almost everytime we play you. I’ll keep talking about how Manboobs chokes in bowl games and can’t beat teams with big athletic D-lines. Yeah, he’s a real whiz kid against Wake Forest and UVA, but stop that dive and this overrated hack is completely clueless. He has no idea what to do. His wonderful offense is rendered completely impotent, much like a Tech fan with a girl.
So keep running those mouths Tech fans. I’ll be here to talk about the things that you don’t have the balls to talk about. Keep on spreading those lies about Georgia fans, but you know deep down in your insecure little hearts that we’ve got the courage to confront our pronblems. We talk about the horrible record against Florida. We talk about being down 30-0 at the half to Bama and no SEC championship in 5 years. We talk about players getting arrested and how much the defense sucks. We talk about all these things because we have balls. Tech fans only want to talk about their one victory over UGA in 9 years and how awesome they are because they won the ACC. Tech fans just want everyone to blow sunshine up their butts about how wondeerful they are and then cry like little sissies when it doesn’t happen.
Tech + Fans = JOKE.
Punch that in to your fancy Texas Instrument calculators nerds.
CatsFly
April 30th, 2010
12:46 pm
USCar fans, I would love to have you back in the ACC where you belong. You are our sister state. I also want Tech to remain in the ACC. Wouldn’t mind having Vandy and UGa as well. We want a conference comprised of quality schools. For those who think that NCState is not a quality school, they are simply mistaken. Complete a computer science, engineering, or chemistry curriculum there, and you will have a strong undergrad education which, based on my experience as a technical recruiter having recruited NCState among all the nation’s engineering schools, will land you a good job. Same for VaTech.
HugoStiglitz
April 30th, 2010
12:58 pm
lol, good lord. Dawgfan is one angry mutt. Give us another 4 paragraph rant Dawgfan.
broken Stinger
April 30th, 2010
1:16 pm
Metro area 5,000,000, but metro area that are Tech fans = less than 20,000. Tech will NOT be asked to be in SEC. If any ACC teams are asked it will be the florida teams or Clemson.
dawgfan
April 30th, 2010
1:23 pm
Yeah, try and play it cool Techie. I’m sure you just get a big kick out of getting exposed and shamed by my posts. You’re probably one of the Techies that left the Georgia game crying like a little girl and then turned around days later and claimed it didn’t matter. Come on Techie, be honest with yourself. UGA owns your soul and you know it. You aren’t fooling anyone.
And I’d be happy to drag your sissy little program through the mud some more if you’d like. Just run your big Techie mouth and give me some ammo. I’d be happy to oblige…
HugoStiglitz
April 30th, 2010
1:55 pm
I didnt attend last years game, I actually went to a large viewing party that one of my friends had where there were plenty of UGA fans and Tech fans. You know what we did after we lost? We played drinking games and Rock Band, and had a great time the rest of the night. You know why? Because it was just a football game. If your soul is somehow affected by college football then great, you keep living life like that. You really seem to be taking it way too seriously though.
Nickj0321
April 30th, 2010
2:29 pm
Dawgfan – LOL redneck…1-1 since CPJ arrived…keep your players out of jail then come talk to us, thug
supersize that order, mutt
April 30th, 2010
2:54 pm
Dawgfan, another thing you pathetic mutts do when you can’t come up with salient points is resort to derogatory names for our coach and players. And the worst thing was last week when so many mutts who post here resorted to calling Dwyer a druggie because he uses prescription medication for a legitimate medical condition. That’s the kind of class you mutts have. I never denied that Thomas choked when he dropped that ball, and I never made any excuses for Tech’s losing the game. Our defense sucked and your RB’s ran all over us. BUT Tech was still in the game until Thomas did drop that ball. You want to talk about excuse-making, how about all the whining and referee-blaming you mutts did after LSU beat you last fall. I will say this about next year’s game. Whoever has the least bad defense will probably win it, but I guarantee you that the mutts will NOT stop Nesbitt and company. Unless Tech’s defense has improved to the level that it can make tackles and cover passes, then the game will be a scoring contest, and whoever scores last will win—just like the Tech-FSU game last fall.
Daniel
April 30th, 2010
4:31 pm
i bet Supersize gets all the chicks (stifled laughter).
dawgfan
April 30th, 2010
4:31 pm
Oh lord. What a nerd. Who in the hell goes to a “viewing party” for a football game? My wife used to have a “viewing party” for Sex and the City. Dork.
HugoStiglitz
April 30th, 2010
4:47 pm
lol. Just curiously dawgfan, what are you trying to accomplish? If its making me laugh then you have done well. Do you really think you make anyone feel bad with your 3rd grade insults? Seriously dude, get some therapy. Im now partially hoping that UGA wins every game against Tech because im a little afraid of what you might do to yourself if they dont.
CatsFly
April 30th, 2010
4:56 pm
During the days of Coach ?Ryan? (died in air crash after taking LSU job), Lou Holtz, and coach Sheridan, NCState worked over a lot teams, particularly Clemson. How soon people forget. NCState has appeal and a very good coach. They will be strong sooner than later. – a UNC fan.
supersize that order, mutt
April 30th, 2010
5:03 pm
dawgfan, having a viewing party for “Sex and the City” was probably the only way your wife could ever see what good sex was all about
messin with sasquatch
April 30th, 2010
5:49 pm
why not add ugag to the acc so they can be competive for a championship? Instead of interpolating they won it……..sorry for the multi-sylable word, doggs.
Technophobia
April 30th, 2010
6:42 pm
Hey dawgfan, speaking of impotent, how’s your baseball team doing. 25-6 ouch!
ToccoaDawg
April 30th, 2010
8:10 pm
The SEC doesn’t want yech
BulldawgsRuintheState
April 30th, 2010
8:48 pm
Most any major university could adapt and gradually fit into any of the major conferences, but why bother? Tech is well-suited to the ACC and as for the SEC: been there, done that. By the way, Hewitt can pal around with Johnson all he wants to (and all DRad wants him to) but it doesn’t change the fact that he is not worthy to be a Ga. Tech coach and we want him fired. Immediately.
BulldawgsRuintheState
April 30th, 2010
8:52 pm
The SEC would love to have a “big bus” academic institution to help balance out all the short bus programs they have, but who wants to be any closer to the bullpups that they absolutely have to? Not Georgia Tech people, that’s for sure. Let the SEC continue on in their tradition of strong football and weak everything else (including minds) and we’ll be content sweeping their baseball team, occasionally kicking their football butts, and—once we fire Hewitt—regularly beating them on the hardwood again. We sure don’t want fleas, and if you lay down with dawgs, that’s what you get…..along with any number of STD’s.
BulldawgsRuintheState
April 30th, 2010
9:02 pm
No offense, Doug, but the more I think about the Tech-SEC thing the more humorous and unlikely it seems. Tech is so ideally suited to the more academically, East-Coast oriented ACC and so diametrically opposed to the good ol’ boy SEC that neither entity would seriously consider a change. It is true that Tech was formerly a longtime and prominent member of the SEC, but it was years ago in a different era for college sports and universities in general. I do think leaving the SEC the way he did was Dodd’s biggest mistake, but Tech being in the ACC makes such good sense now that we shouldn’t even give returning a second thought.
Best of luck to both conferences and to the rivalry between Tech and UGA that requires no further fuel.
BulldawgsRuintheState
April 30th, 2010
9:09 pm
If it meant we could fire Paul Hewitt and be rid of his mediocrity and player exploitation, then I’d agree for Tech to join the Pac-10, the Mid-America, or the Catholic League of Girls Athletics conferences. We might lose a little prestige and television revenues, but at least we could put a legit basketball team on the floor. (And just think what havoc CPJ’s triple option would wreak in those conferences.)
Coach Hewitt..
April 30th, 2010
9:45 pm
Obviously you AZZ hats do not want back in the SEc since y’all PuZZed out on playing Bama in ‘13 & ‘14… Nick Saban is taking you guy’s to the woodshed on Al.com… You freakin nats are pitiful…shoulda , woulda, coulda…Can’t even take care of the Reck..LMMFAO…Prolly the most recognizable school Icon & your beggin for money to keep it duct taped together.. God bless… y’all had to beg for money just to haul that POS to Miami to get your Azze’s kicked by Iowa..And you wonder why as your BB coach I won’t do the honorable thing & quit..Y’all suck, that’s why…Dave Braine told me to tell y’all hello!!!!!!! LMMFAO…$7.1 million or STFU!!! i run this school…Paul..
Chronos
April 30th, 2010
10:50 pm
Uhhh, Coach Hewitt, I think you need to take your medication. AI.com? I don’t think Saban is posting at AI.com, hahahahaha.
supersize that order, mutt
April 30th, 2010
10:55 pm
Coach Hewitt, whoever the hell you are, how about getting rid of the racist lingo and say what the hell you are talking about. First of all, there is no AI.com, at least not one that I could find that had anything to do with sports. Did you mean SI.com??? And in SI.com, I don’t see anything about Saban taking anybody to the woodshed over it. That was actually the first I heard about it, and all I have read so far is that the two schools “agreed” to reschedule. Last year Ole Miss and Tech agreed to reschedule also, but it was because Ole Miss requested it. Did Tech request this one? I’m asking seriously because I have not heard.
superDawg
April 30th, 2010
11:28 pm
Ala. would beat the nerd out of tek.
BS Patrol
April 30th, 2010
11:55 pm
Tech’s not afraid of UA or any other over hyped SEC team.
college football
May 1st, 2010
1:05 am
Those yellow rats don’t belong in the SEC, get a team of character, integrity and class, all of which they can’t identify with.
BS Patrol
May 1st, 2010
1:23 am
Yeah right CF,
The traits you describe belong to one team in your conference, Vandy. Adding Tech would elevate the SEC by about 50%. If Tech would even consider it.
Buckhead Bulldog
May 1st, 2010
7:50 am
As a life long Bulldog, and part time Tech fan, I would welcome the proud tradition and long, long esteemed heritage of GT football into the SEC.
MHBrown
May 1st, 2010
8:32 am
Do you really think that UGA was founded in 1932? I went to Tech and I know it was the first land grant university in the country. I think it was 1788, but I’m sure it was late 18th century. Certainly Wikipedia should always be taken with a grain of salt, but you should use your own eyes, background knowledge, and common sense, too. Just a little sloppy, don’t you think?
GT
May 1st, 2010
9:22 am
GT still has more SEC football championships than most schools in the conference today and have not played a game in the SEC in thirty years… I believe uga finally caught GT in SEC championships a few years ago.