Clint Lamb
Videos by OutKick
Texas and Oklahoma are officially joining the SEC. After the 14-0 vote from university presidents came back on Thursday, there’s no turning back. Now the time has come to see where all this conference realignment talk goes.
There are still a few questions left to answer though.
First off, will the SEC stop at 16 teams? The growing speculation is that the conference may push towards 20 members in the future, but there hasn’t been anything definitive on that front yet. If the SEC does move in that direction, the realignment talk will then have another layer.
With 16 teams, the two-division system doesn’t make as much sense anymore, but it can still work. Increasing that number to 20 teams, on the other hand, will almost certainly force changes.
Would commissioner Greg Sankey and company push for no divisions? Or would the pod system, which is already my preferred realignment strategy, now have more teeth to critics? Those are fascinating questions, and the OutKick 360 crew is ready to look at the various scenarios.
On Thursday, hosts Chad Withrow and Jonathan Hutton went over a four-pod system with the assumption that the SEC will add four additional teams to the conference landscape: Clemson, Oklahoma State, Florida State, and West Virginia. In Withrow’s proposal, those four pods — or divisions, for those who are unfamiliar with the pod terminology — would consist of the following:
East Division
- Clemson Tigers
- Florida Gators
- Georgia Bulldogs
- LSU Tigers
- South Carolina Gamecocks
West Division
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Oklahoma State Cowboys
- Texas Longhorns
- Texas A&M Aggies
South Division
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Auburn Tigers
- Florida State Seminoles
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Mississippi State Bulldogs
North Division
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Missouri Tigers
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Vanderbilt Commodores
- West Virginia Mountaineers
The idea of adding Clemson, Florida State, Oklahoma State and West Virginia might not be as farfetched as some might think.
Some reports already say that the Tigers and Seminoles are monitoring the current landscape of college football and want to avoid getting left behind. Additionally, the Cowboys would love to remain attached at the hip to Oklahoma. It all makes sense.
Below is a great six-minute clip of the 360 crew breaking down their proposal on how conference alignment could look in the SEC. I think you’re really going to enjoy it.
We’ve got a #SEC Super Conference Division proposal ⤵️
pic.twitter.com/gSP7e0jvVv— OutKick 360 (@Outkick360) July 29, 2021
Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.
Would love to see it except LSU and FSU would be flipped. Having the biggest brands in every state in the south (except NC and VA) would be huge for the SEC in terms of revenue and give us an insurmountable stranglehold on being the best conference in perpetuity. UNC, Duke, UVA, and Va Tech would be begging to join. I would vote at that point to take Va Tech and tell Vandy to join the libtards at UVA, UNC, and Duke in hell.
100% agree. I was looking at the divisions and I saw LSU listed in the “East” and was confused. Also, love the idea of adding Ok St to the mix
why OK state? I’d rather add NC, GaTech or Miami.. although it would not break my heart if we excluded the Miami trash (assuming the addition of FlaSt)… OKSt seems like the least likely new member… I’m not sure they even add much “balance” to OK — I think TX and TAMU would be sufficient.
I’m sketchy on the WVa add, too… Morgantown is only SLIGHTLY more southern than Columbus, OH — so I’d rather see NC, VaTech or OHSt (in that order) rather than WVa!
I agree with Tanner.. Swap LSU and FSU and you got yourself a deal… this must have been a typo or click-bait
Not even close to what should and will happen. Check out our proposal @thefootballvets for where College Football is really heading. The Pods concept is way too much like the NFL and CFB will want to maintain some distinctions between the two.