Vols Football: Why Tennessee fans should oppose the SEC expansion

Before everyone even understood everything, it happened.

Which started with a rumor Texas and Oklahoma were dissatisfied with the Big 12 and wanted to go to the SEC became a reality in less than two weeks. We came in July to wonder how Tennessee would do next season, and we left to wonder what pod they’re going to get when the 16-team conglomerate conference schedule starts.

The vote was taken by university leaders within days. The only way fans got information was through social media. There was no public discussion, no timetable was ever given, no one was consulted except a group of scholars considering excel spreadsheets. Idea had no events 14 days ago. Much of the process was allegedly done in secretand possibly done illegally. On Thursday, 29 July, the vote was ongoing and preparations would be made begins to grant Texas and Oklahoma by 2025. If you were on a trip with the whole family, you’ve probably left out one of the biggest events in college football history.

Everything feels so weird, right? The fact that it happened so fast, and how does it mark the beginning of the end? All in 2 weeks.

One way or another, Texas and Oklahoma come to the conference. This is certainly not the end of the reorganization. More may happen next month. Or maybe next year. Or maybe in 2024 or 2025. Maybe even until 2030. But the point is that current forces are now moving into a completely different landscape than we are used to. On the horizon? The dominant 16-team SEC with a near-monopoly on national championships and elite entry-football programs.

There seem to be differences in the fan communities. Initially, a large proportion of reactions from other SEC fan bases were negative. Why include two programs that can quickly bypass yours? Taking Alabama and Georgia into consistent competition was hard enough … why take on the top 5 Oklahoma team and the sleeping giant Texas?

Then the opposite opinion began to form. This part of the fan base argues that a stronger SEC will not only benefit Tennessee, but the development of the SEC General Conference will benefit the sport as a whole.

Suffice it to say, I disagree. Tennessee fans, who are grateful for a good SEC, resemble a lion in a cramped zoo, thanks to having a zoo manager.

Seriously, why do we all care about conference money if it leads to Tennessee being at the bottom of the stairs?

This is not just an encouragement to the conference during the bowl season or even during an out-of-conference match. This is a multi-year decision that will immediately lead to a deliberate downsizing of Tennessee at its own conference. Volunteers have already done their job if they want to cross 3-4 teams in their own division. Encouraging the SEC to bring in Texas and Oklahoma will encourage the death of Tennessee.

It would almost seem like some Tennessee fans are usually just SEC fans. They can’t even call themselves fans of college football because they know mega-conferences are likely to kill 1/3 of teams that don’t fit neatly into realignment negotiations. Your school doesn’t make money by boat? Is your school not hungry in the middle of a hugely populated area? Bad luck. You should probably have considered living elsewhere.

Do you like watching sports Cinderella? It is over. Once mega-conferences are formed, it ends. No Boise State, no UCF, no Coastal Carolina, no Houston, no North Illinois, etc. You don’t have to believe that these teams will ever win a national championship. I say that reason their fun to watch is wiped away. We love watching minors fight giants. Yes, the giants win a lot. But you won’t love sports if you don’t love the David vs. Goliath story.

Recent news means that these teams will never even get a chance to do so.

I have one advantage that I could lag behind in these deals: the final dissolution of the NCAA, which has something more sustainable and fair. An organization with a sensible compensation policy that understands the unique dynamics that make college football so interesting.

But that’s not how it would go.

Rather, the result would be an even worse situation where big money-making schools give a finger to other teams and become real NFL feed systems. The sports have no appreciation or ideas for college football at all. They simply treat the athletes and give them a degree with the name of the school, without them ever having to worry about who they hosted. Basically the same problem in general higher education. You get rid of the monarchy and then just replace it with feudalism.

If you believe some reportsThis will eventually lead to a 30-team monster conference that will completely take away all the teams left behind. The college football field can be a collegiate sport as a whole and speed up the run to what we feared. Distribution between main groups and small groups.

By the way, if you are a fan of such a team Missouri… why do you think the SEC is loyal to your program? It is said that the above-mentioned monster conference is taking place. Who do you think gives more value: your team or someone else State of Ohio, USC, Oregon, Clemson?

If you like college football, this is a nightmare scenario. The traditions, camaraderie and community of the species are unparalleled. If we continue on this path, we will stop all this.

So if you’re one of those fans who says Tennessee gets bad anyway, so we should just enjoy the big games, prepare for a bad Tennessee team that goes ahead and doesn’t play competitors every year, but loses to teams it has no history .

What kind of mentality is that? If you don’t care about the future of Tennessee and just want the best for the conference, go ahead and buy SEC equipment and encourage everyone who is on the SEC network at the time. It’s much more understandable than claiming to be a Tennessee fan.

Maybe I’m too critical. Yes, the Tennessee struggles from year to year make it difficult to keep the program going. Yes, the current lineup of the sport is not sustainable. But the core option is not always right.

There is also something to be said for money matters.

The argument goes like this: More money for the SEC means better things for Tennessee. Each team gets a clip of the pie, even if it doesn’t win. The bigger the pie, the better. The money helps build programs and keeps them competitive.

Is there a more objectively disputed claim? The SEC earns the most money from all the big meetings, and Tennessee has been out of order for most of the last decade. Teams like Be Miss, Arkansas, Kentucky, all have largely seen their status in the SEC unchanged.

Money is not like the key to success in sports outside of sports. If the SEC program wants to be competitive in baseball, for example … they need a very small portion of the profit. In the case of Tennessee, coach Tony Vitello earns only $ 1.5 million a year and is one of the highest paid in the country. The refurbishment of Lindsey Nelson Stadium may be the most expensive ever done college baseballand it would cost about half of what Tennessee football produces in one year.

Tennessee is also not hungry for money. If you think.

Here is the honest truth to God. Tennessee could leave the SEC tomorrow, and they would immediately become one of them the country’s most coveted programs. Tennessee is a 15 best income program who has survived the worst part of his sports history. Now they are getting up from it little by little. The national football team is clearly figuring itself out. But the men’s basketball team is now a force in the SEC, and a promising start to baseball. Other sports, such as softball, women ‘s basketball, and others, have been decent for some time (though not as good as before.)

The sports department brings in tens of millions of dollars in revenue alone and the raw value of the program reaches hundreds of millions. Why in the world do people care so much if Tennessee gets a little more money in return for a much harder path to relevancy?

Fans of G5 teams will probably laugh as they read this article. For years, their team has been excluded from all national headline debates, money-making conference companies, and more. Now this reality faces another large group of teams.

Fair? It can be a pretty funny reality if those schools want to continue with their football programs. Instead of focusing on TV rights and money, they get to focus on regional competition and maintain a version of college football that has faded for years. They don’t have to try to go beyond the offerings of the big schools. ESPN will not step in and try to turn members against each other. One team does not make excessive demands on the conference to reassure them.

After all, if you’re a Tennessee fan, you have to take care more than just the conference. You can’t put value on money you’ll never see.

You didn’t follow the volunteers in the hope that they would eventually get a place in the NFL feed system. You followed them because the team meant something to you, your family, or those around you. You don’t expect an annual national championship, but you do expect a reasonable opportunity to at least try it.

This all screams into emptiness. Texas and Oklahoma are coming. They probably aren’t the last two either. Whatever the future brings when it comes, it really doesn’t seem to bring good things to Tennessee.