Jeremy Harper Appalachian State, Arkansas State Athletics, Cajuns, Coastal Carolina, Football, G5, Georgia Southern Eagles, Georgia State Panthers, James Madison University, Louisiana, Marshall, Old Dominion, Red Wolves, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Sun Belt, Texas State, Troy, Troy Trojans, ULM

Is the SEC ducking the Sun Belt?

The SEC and the Sun Belt share a similar footprint, but the wealthy power five conference isn’t testing its rising sibling.

If you are a member of the college football solar system, you likely have an opinion of out-of-conference scheduling. Is it cool to host an FCS program? Is it uncool to host an FCS program late in the season? If you’re a Power Five program, should you schedule in-state Group of Fives? Is it a soul-less cash grab for a G5 to schedule more than one P5 a year?

Lately, the Power 2 (Big 10 and SEC) have been wondering why bother with an OCC at all? Just get big enough to comfortably schedule 12 conference games and keep all the loot! As a business strategy, it’s as sound as a dollar. For fans, it sucks, tho. I’m not sure if Tony Petitti, Greg Sanky and Brett Yormark give a damn. It’s all about that bag.

Anyway, is the SEC ducking the Sun Belt? The SEC and the Sun Belt share territory and valuable pools of in-state fans. It seems like a perfect OOC setup for both conferences, easy on the bus mileage and pre-approved for rivalry. Yet, in recent years, the SEC has been a lukewarm rival at best, allowing the ACC to become the Sun Belt’s chief P5 rival.

SBC P5 OOC202220232024
SEC345
ACC976
Big 10225
Big 12242
PAC 12110

It’s not as if the SEC has seen a competitive threat from the Sun Belt. According to mcubed.net, the all time record between the two conferences is 163-12, a 93.1% win rate. The average score: 41.9 to 14.3. The record against the ACC isn’t much better: 53-6 (89.3%) by an average score of 35.5 to 18.2.

So why is the AAC more willing to take on the Sun Belt than the SEC, even if the Sun Belt is largely in their backyard? With the arrival of Old Dominion, Marshall, Appalachian State, and James Madison, the Sun Belt has natural heat between the ACC. Virginia Tech and North Carolina appears to be especially vested in this rivalry, playing multiple SBC opponents.

The SEC doesn’t have to buddy up with the Sun Belt. Arkansas has recently been defeated by CUSA, the MAC, the Mountain West, and yes the Sun Belt. The Razorbacks are an equal-opportunity P5 victory. But maybe the 2012 loss to ULM still stings more than the loss to Toledo in 2015 or the defeat to North Texas in 2018. Alabama lost to ULM in 2007 and the Warhawks are still dining for free on it. Appalachian State beat Texas A&M last season and it destroyed their year. Maybe playing the Sun Belt extracts too much of an emotional toll? Perhaps sharing a field with the Sun Belt reminds fans that they don’t have to place all their interest in a conference that views them a piggybanks. I dunno. Just seems to me the SEC and the Sun Belt could play more games.

PHOTO CREDIT. Me.