Dumping Georgia-Auburn rivalry would be bad for college football
As I’m sure you’ve seen, UGA athletic director Greg McGarity talked with reporters Wednesday about the possibility of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry between Georgia and Auburn falling victim to the revised schedule the expanded SEC is likely to undertake after this coming season.
Basically, what it comes down to is this: The permanent cross-divisional rivalries could easily be maintained if the SEC went to a nine-game conference schedule as other conferences, including the ACC, are doing. But SEC athletic directors prefer to stick with eight conference games in order to maintain more scheduling flexibility (meaning they can schedule the occasional nonconference BCS game and still feast on at least two cupcakes per season).
That’s an even bigger factor for teams like Georgia, Florida and South Carolina that have BCS in-state rivals permanently locked in on their schedule.
The future of the Georgia-Auburn rivalry is endangered because, with that game and Alabama-Tennessee being the only east-west permanent rivalries that historically mean a whole lot to the schools involved, there’s little incentive for the athletic directors of the remaining 10 SEC schools to maintain them.
This is one instance in which what the fans clearly would prefer runs completely counter to what the business-minded athletic directors desire. There’s no question fans would rather give up a cupcake game than a traditional yearly rivalry.
But the fans and athletic directors are on separate pages here.
McGarity admitted as much when he told the Macon Telegraph that he opposed going to nine conference games because, in UGA’s case, with Georgia Tech “that makes 10 games. If you ever wanted to schedule Clemson or Ohio State, like we have, then that only leaves one guarantee game. That’s a pretty tough schedule. Fans would love it. But I don’t know if your coaches or players [would]. That’s strapping it up 11 of 12 weeks there. You have to have some time where some players play who never get a chance to be on the field. That’s why you schedule some of the I-AAs, and some of the other games, to let some of those kids grow, let those kids get their experience.”
OK, first of all, most of us know that those cupcake games really are primarily scheduled for financial reasons, not to give the kids riding the bench a chance at playing time.
But even if you accept the athletic directors’ argument for not going to nine conference games, asking fans at Georgia, Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee to accept the loss of a traditional rivalry game with a storied history in exchange for a glorified scrimmage against a 1-AA team or some nobody school with a directional name is simply not in the best interests of college football.
That may be old-fashioned thinking, I know, but if the SEC starts throwing away those longstanding traditions that have engendered the fanatical fan support that has provided the foundation of its success, what you end up with is just a feeder league for the NFL.
Got something on your mind concerning UGA athletics or a question for the Junkyard Blawg? Send it to junkyardblawg@gmail.com.
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300 comments Add your comment
Still@theKool-aidBAR
February 9th, 2012
2:16 pm
UGA Friend or whatever your other 10 names are. Are you that STUPID to think BOB typed that? You Georgia Government school education is showing.
TDF
February 9th, 2012
2:19 pm
Jacket99
February 9th, 2012
2:00 pm
If they all joined ACC would no longer be inferior and would actually sky rocket to either number one or 2. That is if they get the division right this time. All three of the new teams would have to go to the weaker Div in the ACC. That would prob make it the most balanced conf depending on who the SEC got to replace the 3 teams.
The SEC for sure would be lopsided and would lose a lot of prestige. so if those three did join the ACC and Clemson and FSU stayed, ACC would likely be the conf to beat. But it would all depend on who the SEC got to replace them and if they evened out the divisions bc you couldnt have Bama AU LSU and ARK all in one division.
Say if Texas and oklahoma took our spots plus another, then SEC would get the nod as the best still bbut the ACC would be right there and the big 12 would be gone.
TDF
February 9th, 2012
2:27 pm
Still@theKool-aidBAR
February 9th, 2012
2:16 pm
calling out someone for multiple handels????? you have like 50 you clown.
And yes we all know you and GTbob have some freaky love going on.
steve
February 9th, 2012
2:29 pm
EASY..Keep one permanent game and have one rotating game. 6 division games one rotating and one permanent game!
Lakedawg
February 9th, 2012
2:30 pm
Still at bar—One of your earlier comments was the first thing you have ever posted that made any sense at all. The other kicker in this deal is Dawgs play at Florida ever year. Playing Tech home and home if we went 9 games Dawgs really get short end of stick particularly the upcoming years with home and home with Clemson and Ohio State.
This year we have 3 home SEC games due to Florida and Tech problem. Who would like to play 6 SEC games on the road some years??
Still@theKool-aidBAR
February 9th, 2012
2:30 pm
FTD I have 3 handles 1 for each blog.
TDF
February 9th, 2012
2:38 pm
Still@theKool-aidBAR
February 9th, 2012
2:30 pm
Sure you do, thats why you messed up yesterday and used FTD on a diff handel that you had made up. We all know you have way more than 3. Stop hiding nerd.
Jacket99
February 9th, 2012
2:44 pm
TDF…Agreed. Like you, I think two of the replacements would be Texas and Oklahoma. I think the third replacement would be Oklahoma State. This arrangement would make more sense geographically and would help ensure traditional rivalries remain the same. It would also enhance basketball at the three new ACC schools.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
February 9th, 2012
2:51 pm
FTD again you show how much you think you know as compared to how much you actually know.
TDF
February 9th, 2012
2:54 pm
Jacket99
February 9th, 2012
2:44 pm
It certainly would even out college football a little with 2 dominant conf but Like I said before I dont see it happening, unless there was a huge amount of $$$ being thrown at them to do so.
At this point anything would help our bball team. If they would get some money to hire better assistants and increase recruting budget they could be good. Fox is a good recruiter but he needs some good assitants to help him. KCP was a huge get and he is a special player (Had Leslie and Trey stayed, we would be a premier SEC team this year I think and ranked for the first time in 1000 years in bball)
Jacket99
February 9th, 2012
2:56 pm
TDF…the city of Atlanta might lose some revenue if Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina left the SEC for the ACC because the SECCG would probably move back to Legion Field or to the Superdome. Small price to pay for the potential superconference, I say.
TallaDawg
February 9th, 2012
2:57 pm
In the short-run this may look like the wise business move, but in the (relatively short) long-run fans will lose interest after college football loses the TRADITION. Tradition is really what differentiates college football and pro ball.
TDF
February 9th, 2012
2:58 pm
Still@theKool-aidBAR
February 9th, 2012
2:51 pm
hahahahahaha you dont have to be Einstien to know you have more handels than you claim. But keep trying maybe someone will be fooled
Still@theKool-aidBAR
February 9th, 2012
2:58 pm
FTD and if your aunt had balls she be your uncle. maybe in your household she is both your aunt & uncle still.
TDF
February 9th, 2012
2:59 pm
Jacket99
February 9th, 2012
2:56 pm
Yea forgot about that part of the equation. but that would open it up for the ACC championship.
evillurks
February 9th, 2012
2:59 pm
As with everything else in business….once the profits start to roll in…the greed factor goes off the scale. Eventually, they kill the essence of what made something good at first. In just one or two years, college football could easily lose most of its supporters through all of the changes being forced on its fanbases.
They’ll kill the goose eventually. It might just be sooner rather than later.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
February 9th, 2012
3:00 pm
ftd so tell what handles I use on the sports blogs since you know.
TDF
February 9th, 2012
3:01 pm
Still@theKool-aidBAR
February 9th, 2012
2:58 pm
Wow didnt know ppl still said dumb stuff like that anymore. You do know you are in the same state as I. so any sterotype you play go against you as well. Keep trying nerd.
TallaDawg
February 9th, 2012
3:02 pm
Also, all they have to do is move AU and UA to the East and put Mizzou in the West.
Then, move UK or VU to the West OR get two more teams expressly for the West.
Like Bill said there are not any traditional rivalries that would be upset. (The hype of LSU-UA is recent.)
Jacket99
February 9th, 2012
3:03 pm
TDF
February 9th, 2012
2:54 pm
Jacket99
February 9th, 2012
2:44 pm
It certainly would even out college football a little with 2 dominant conf but Like I said before I dont see it happening, unless there was a huge amount of $$$ being thrown at them to do so.
———————————————————-
$$$ rules all. But I think the $$$ could be there if such an arrangement could be made. I think it would be a good fit.
Your Dawgs may surprise all at the SEC tournament.
HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH
February 9th, 2012
3:13 pm
Bill, didn’t you call Auburn a dirty program? Hypocrite.
TDF
February 9th, 2012
3:15 pm
filters s u c k
TDF
February 9th, 2012
3:16 pm
Yea we could if…… the dome gets hit by another t o r n a d o and G T hosts the rest of the tourney!
TDF
February 9th, 2012
3:17 pm
HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH
February 9th, 2012
3:13 pm
Scam Fairley, two very recent very dirty players (one paid for and one just dirty player) Wonder how light the bag man is this month after stealing avery young
ugadawg2005
February 9th, 2012
3:23 pm
Move Auburn and Alabama to the East and Missouri and either Vandy or Kentucky to the West. Missouri needs to play aTm and Arkansas every year, and Vandy/Kentucky would be a good border rivalry. The SEC East would then be Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Vanderbilt and the West would be Arkansas, LSU, Missouri, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Miss St, and Texas A&M. I know that seems lopsided, but is it any more lopsided than the current alignment with the balance of power all in the SEC West?
Jacket99
February 9th, 2012
3:25 pm
TDF…the Jackets are homeless right now. Someone else would have to host the tourney, maybe Emory, Oglethorpe, or Life College.
G-Dawg
February 9th, 2012
3:25 pm
The Grinch….especially since the NFL was fighting over $1 Billion in revenue during the last lockout…hell, give some of that money to the LFL.
How bout add another bye week, if they extend the season by a game or two??
G-Dawg
February 9th, 2012
3:27 pm
Have Vandy and Auburn switch divisions.
TDF
February 9th, 2012
3:29 pm
Jacket99
February 9th, 2012
3:25 pm
Forgot about that. My moms boss (mom didnt go to UGA so the joke doesnt work!!!!) is a techie and a huge bball fan, he canceled his tickets this year out of anger that they dont have a real home court this season.
Ed Pilcher
February 9th, 2012
3:31 pm
Bill, I hate to break this to ya, but College Football has ALWAYS been a feeder system for the NFL.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
February 9th, 2012
3:37 pm
Ed Pilcher but the goal of a College Student wasn’t the NFL. A degree was and a good job. Pro Sports haven’t been paying a great wage for all that long compared to the history of the game.
True Tech`
February 9th, 2012
3:39 pm
“We have a chance to completely bury Tech’s program”. Really? LOL that WILL NEVER HAPPEN! Just because you own the series record, doesn’t mean you make or break a football program. That’s just typical Redneck, delusional thinking. Let me get this through your small, bulldog brain: We are not going anywhere. Yea you will beat us, but we are going to play you to the last whistle and eventually beat you idiots. Love it or hate it, we are staying.
b-ham dawg
February 9th, 2012
3:40 pm
I think we should just add another game in general. Play 13, go to a 9 game conference schedule and keep 4 non conference. Hell, who doesn’t want to see more football. I know this will never happen but wishful thinking.
Jacket99
February 9th, 2012
3:40 pm
TDF…That’s too bad about your mom’s boss. The Jackets will have a very nice home court soon. Hopefully, we’ll have some nice wins to go with the nice facility.
Your Dawgs will have an opportunity at the SEC tournament. They had a nice win against Arkansas.
b-ham dawg
February 9th, 2012
3:41 pm
@True Tech… do you really think tech students are smarter than uga students?
Jacket99
February 9th, 2012
3:45 pm
Hey Kool-Aid…the percentages are not in favor of the student-athlete making it to the NFL. Best to get the free education while you can. Knees fail, careers end, but no one can take away your education.
G-Dawg
February 9th, 2012
3:46 pm
“the percentages are not in favor of the student-athlete making it to the NFL”
Agree…but try telling that to any HS recruit!! Very few understand the big picture.
Dean
February 9th, 2012
3:47 pm
Just go back to letting the schools make their schedules before the SEC got involved in equally rotating schedules. We rotated in schools nicely. The only thing that didn’t make sense was the yearly game with Ole Miss.
TDF
February 9th, 2012
3:47 pm
Jacket99
February 9th, 2012
3:40 pm
Yea, none of his tech employees (Which is all but 3) were happy either as they got the tickets he didnt use! yall will have a nice team next year and could make a run. When do the new teams come in?
Yea finally played a full game for once! We need big men bad, and we are very young playing mostly freshman and sophmores. The 3 we got coming in for next year will be great additions, just need to add a solid big man and we could turn the corner.
Dean
February 9th, 2012
3:49 pm
Try also expalining that the average career for an NFL athlete is 3 1/2 years. Even if your lucky enough to get past the practice squad it’s not likely they will ever make enough to live off of past their playing days.
Jacket99
February 9th, 2012
3:50 pm
G-Dawg…sadly, you’re right. A major moment in one’s life is when aspiration meets reality.
Bow D
February 9th, 2012
3:56 pm
Why keep the series between AU and UGA? The idea of keeping the status quo is the reason we still don’t have a playoff system to decide a true national champion. Get rid of Auburn and Tech!! Let’s move on!!
Jacket99
February 9th, 2012
3:58 pm
Bow D…why stop there? Get rid of scholarships and make football a club sport, like sailing or water skiing.
LHarding Dawg
February 9th, 2012
4:00 pm
I would give up my season tickets if we did away with either Tech or Auburn.
Pago Pago Dawg
February 9th, 2012
4:00 pm
What did you expect when the SEC added T A&M and Missouri! The SEC bigshots really don’t care about the UGA/AU series.
TDF
February 9th, 2012
4:01 pm
Bow D
February 9th, 2012
3:56 pm
Cant agree. These rivalries are what make college football so great.
cajdawg
February 9th, 2012
4:01 pm
I’d rather go to 9 SEC games.
I know we have been playing Auburn for 100 years but I am fine not playing them every year. I have always viewed GT and UF as our main rivals, I have “football hate” for GT and UF but I respect them, particularly as academic institutions. AU (and Alabama) is now is spillover school for GA kids that can’t get into UGA or GT or Emory. Truth hurts.
TDF
February 9th, 2012
4:02 pm
FYI UGA just offered a Samoan out of JUCO in cali. Bigger and stronger than Chester.
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/511613/
Link to his highlights
Competition Is What It's All About!!!
February 9th, 2012
4:03 pm
When the SEC added a championship game, everyone was up in arms because the two best teams had the chance to knock each other out of contention for the National Championship picture. Turns out competition makes the league better, duh. Move to 9 games and wipe out the cupcakes and the SEC will end up being even more of a juggernaut than it already is. Not to mention that Tradition is the life-blood of college football and the SEC. If the SEC drops the Auburn game, both sides should boycott the cupcake scheduled in their place. I guarantee that the money lost will quickly change the minds of the ADs. Besides, who cares about going to a game like that anyway, just catch the highlights on ESPN? Fans have the power to make this decision for the AD, not the other way around.
tim scott
February 9th, 2012
4:11 pm
It is bad enough that they keep messing with the uniforms like those things you all wore against Boise. Do what we have to do so as to keep these traditional rivals. Georgia Tech LEFT the SEC FSU had a chance to join the SEC neither UGA nor my Gators should feel bad if they have to dump those games, the ACC needs us much more than we need them. I don’t feel that the SEC owes the AIN’T Competitve Conf anything.