Five storylines from the SEC spring meetings, which begin Tuesday in Destin, Fla.:</p><span class="subhead_lead">
Growing the league</p></span>
Expansion
is not an official agenda item. But with twice the usual media turnout
expected in Destin, there will be plenty of talk about whether the SEC
should expand to 16 teams.Commissioner Mike Slive has said the SEC is
working on a plan should the Big Ten expand. Jimmy Hyams, a veteran
broadcaster in Knoxville, citing a source close to CBS, reported Slive
already has met with the network to discuss potential targets with
Texas, Texas A&M, Clemson and Florida State at the top of the list.
The SEC denied the report, but the conference has a history of being
proactive in enhancing the conference’s reputation and revenues.</p><span class="subhead_lead">
More money</p></span>
The
league will announce record payouts for 2009-10, the first year the $3
billion deals with CBS and ESPN hit the balance sheet. The SEC is
expected to distribute about $17 million to each of its schools, up
from an average of $11.1 million last year. Already the windfall is
being felt around the league, particularly among assistant football
coaches. Four defensive coordinators, including USC’s Ellis Johnson,
received new contracts this offseason worth $600,000 or more. Let’s
hope the SEC also announces plans to give money to the oil spill
cleanup efforts along the Gulf Coast, where the league has held its
meetings for years.</p><span class="subhead_lead">
Urban renewal</p></span>
Florida
football coach Urban Meyer, whose chest pains in December prompted him
to take a leave of absence, has made himself scarce since the Gators’
spring game. It’s good to hear Meyer has been taking it easy while
offensive coordinator Steve Addazio attended Gator Club meetings and
media obligations. The challenge for Meyer will be to find occasional
quiet time during the season.</p><span class="subhead_lead">
Death to basketball divisions </p></span>
Mississippi
State and Mississippi went a combined 0-8 against the SEC’s East top
four teams last season, yet both received first-round byes in the
conference tournament by finishing 1-2 in the West. It was the latest
example of a divisional seeding system that critics say is unfair and
antiquated. The SEC is the only major conference using the two-division
format in basketball, although there will be discussions this week
about eliminating it. At the least, the SEC will consider reseeding
teams for its tournament without regard to division standings. </p>
<span class="subhead_lead">
Less cowbell</span></p>
With
billion-dollar TV contracts and the possibility of conference
expansion, the inclusion of artificial noisemakers on the agenda list
might not sound significant.Try telling that to Mississippi State and
its legions of cowbell-clanging fans. The SEC may expand its 1974 ban
on noisemakers – possibly slapping fines on schools who ignore the
rule. The SEC asked South Carolina to limit use of a piped-in rooster
crow at Williams-Brice Stadium several years ago, although cowbells
have kept clanging in Starkville. Now that cacophony of cowbells might
come with a price.</p><div style="border: medium none ; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" id="TixyyLink">
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