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SECEXPAN.ASC
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1990-09-18
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Roy Kramer could hardly play the part of the corporate raider. After
all, he's a former football coach. When Kramer first came to Vanderbilt as
athletic director in 1978, he still wore his coaching shoes to the games. Now
that he's Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, Kramer sticks with the
top line of footwear. Still, he couldn't be accused of shopping for Armani's.
Nevertheless, Kramer and the rest of the Southeastern Conference expansion
committee know that is the image it has conjured up in recent weeks. To some
people, the expansion of the Southeastern Conference has all the
characteristics of a corporate takeover, a struggle for financial dominance.
"Any time things are done in collegiate sports, we know that some
people will view it as a greedy, money-hungry move," Kramer said. "We can't
help that, but it's some of the most greedy things in sports that have turned
out best for the fans. "But to compare this with Wall Street takeover isn't
right. We're not taking over anything, (joining the SEC) is the institution's
decision." Kramer expected to receive some criticism when the SEC announced
Arkansas was ending a 76-year association with the Southwest Conference to
join the SEC. He expects more as the SEC hopes to add as many as five schools
to the 11-university membership.
He might not have expected it to be so pointed. Southwest Conference
coaches took it upon themselves to toss out barbs Friday in Dallas at the SWC
Media Day. Baylor's Grant Teaff was most vocal, trying to compare the SEC
expansion to Iraq starting a war in the Middle East. He also accused Arkansas
of basically thumbing its nose at the SWC members with its decision to leave.
Sounds more like sour grapes from a guy who is watching his conference being
left at the starting gate. While SEC expansion is definitely being done with
dollar signs in mind, the increased membership will also raise the level of
competition in SEC to a point that no league has ever approached.
SEC officials, when forming ideas on expansion, were told that
television might pay as much as $20-$30 million for the rights to televise a
championship game in the expanded SEC. That alone would be enough to make one
think twice, but Kramer says there is more. "It's not all about television
money," he said. "It's also about selling season tickets at the schools." In
the SEC, despite its campus locations in areas that wouldn't be considered
metropolitan, football stadiums are among the largest in the nation. Auburn,
located 60 miles from Montgomery, has a stadium that seats 85,000. Georgia
(Athens), 60 miles from Atlanta, can put 82,000 in its stadium and Alabama
(Tuscaloosa), 59 miles from Birmingham, holds more than 70,000 in Bryant-Denny
Stadium. Tennessee, in Knoxville, draws 91,000 for a football game.
Arkansas, which must consistently play before empty seats in smaller
stadiums in the SWC, saw the opportunities that awaited it and went for them.
Is that greed, or progress? The critical factor in making sure the seats are
filled is season ticket sales. The improved schedule from an expanded
conference would guarantee there will be people in the seats. Auburn's 77,000
season tickets and Tennessee's 65,000 (not including student sales) are
examples of financial success before the first kickoff. The bottom line is
that most college athletic departments are feeling the economic crunch. If
football and basketball were the only sports, there might not be a need to
increase income. But with minor sports surviving on the success of football
and basketball programs, Kramer and other SEC expansionists saw the need to
make a move before it was too late.
For the fan, the move is an absolute dream. Imagine the SEC standings
with Miami, Florida State and Arkansas blended in with regulars Auburn,
Florida, Alabama, LSU, etc. "I think expansion is one of the most exciting
things I've experienced," said LSU Coach Mike Archer. Still, some will never
forgive the league. SEC schools will not have time to worry about that,
however, they'll be too busy counting their tickets.
*** From The (Shreveport) Times, Shreveport, LA ***