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Chuck Oliver
SEC Wants Louisville as 14th Member; Academics Leave WVU Out
In the latest unexpected turn on the twisty, gnarled path that college football conference expansion is taking, Louisville and the University of Kentucky are now steering the SEC’s ship for the time being. The bottom line . . .
If the SEC expands to just 14 teams, the conference prefers that 14th team to be Louisville. Kentucky does not and it has veto power, in effect, for any school within its borders. This is the same arrangement for Florida, Georgia and South Carolina regarding FSU, Georgia Tech and Clemson. As such, if membership is capped at 14 the league will have to go elsewhere for that final addition.
For many observers the presumed 14th SEC team was West Virginia. Shocking as this may sound, given the opinion many people have of where the SEC places classroom excellence compared to the on-field product, WVU won’t be invited due to its projected academic standing among the current SEC schools and the reputation it has as a university.
With Louisville and WVU now assumed out of the mix – at least at this time – the SEC’s options are more limited than most of us have thought to this point. A $20 million payoff to the ACC would affect that, but the SEC’s first, second and third priorities are to avoid that. Suddenly, Missouri is back in the discussion as the 14th conference team.
If Missouri does get the SEC invite, the Big 12 (if it exists) emerges as the likely destination for Louisville. As of this morning, Louisville’s attention is split between trying to stay in the SEC’s discussion and waiting on news from Texas. If the Longhorns stay in the Big 12 and the SEC only expands to 14, expect Louisville to join the Big 12 as soon as Texas is confirmed. An invitation to the ACC is not on anyone’s list of possibilities, as both sides recognize the academics of Louisville and the poor fit it would be in that league. However . . .
The Cardinals’ one chance to heave the dice down the table and win the ultimate prize of SEC membership is if the conference expands to 16. At that point, they’re in, Kentucky smiles big and pretends to be happy about it and both schools try to make nice, to some degree, going forward. The move to 16 would almost certainly involve FSU and Clemson, among a few other high-profile schools, re-entering the discussion.
Expect all of this to resolved with two weeks.
Copyright © 2011 Chuck Oliver.Net
Additional coverage for the Kentucky Wildcats4 Responses to “SEC Wants Louisville as 14th Member; Academics Leave WVU Out”
I'm Chuck Oliver. I talk sports for a living, most of that talk being about college football. I really appreciate you taking the time to be part of our show, whether through this web site or listening on the radio or online. If we're ever in your area, come out and meet everybody. We really don't have good things to give you if you show up, but we do have free things to give you and that ain't so bad. T-shirts, key chains, a mouse pad or two. You get the idea. More about Chuck Oliver
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Ha. Louisville has similar or worse academics vis-a-vis WVU. In addition, it’s a suitcase college where a large percentage of its students don’t stay on campus.
Also, I highly doubt that UK has veto power over any action the SEC takes.
Ridiculous story.
Kentucky wishes it had that much influence and power over the SEC. Sadly for them, it takes 3 schools to veto a member application. Word on the street is the the so-called “Gentlemen’s Agreement” has been thrown out of the window for some time.
Additionally if WVU academic reputation is keeping it out of the SEC, Louisville’s is not much better. The UofL fan base is smaller as well. The only scenario that UofL gets a sniff is if the SEC wants to counter the ACC’s basketball moves.
UK would like nothing more then to see Louisville cast back into a non-BCS league.
I don’t know about the UKAA’s feelings about UL joining the SEC, but it wouldn’t bother me at all. It would just about guarantee that UL would never get back to a BCS bowl game again, and I think they’ll be bottom-dwellers along with UK, Vandy, Ole Miss and occasional others.