Joining the SEC

[Husker4real]

This is not the early 2005...not even 2010. The SEC is NOT courting us. We don’t bring enoug televisions, we are not a cultural fit, and we have zero national recognition. Best case scenario would be rejoining the big 12. Hell the Mountain West is more realistic than the SEC. We are not leaving the B1G.

Given the amount of vitriol thrown Nebraska's way this Summer/Fall for merely wanting to play football, I would say that we have a rather significant volume of national recognition.

Case in point...UT - Chattanooga. How much criticism has been levied at that school for not only agreeing to play Nebraska, but also playing another game this Fall when their conference planned to play in the Spring?

All that said, Nebraska and the SEC is a silly discussion.

 

[Oldie but goodie]

SEC West:
Nebraska
Oklahoma or Kansas
Arkansas
LSU
Mississippi
Texas A&M
Mississippi St
Missouri

SEC East:
Alabama
Auburn
Georgia
Florida
Kentucky
Vanderbilt
Tennessee
South Carolina

Hello! They will NEVER have Alabama and Auburn in the same division as Florida and Georgia.

 

[Oldie but goodie]

I'm all done with conference changes. we need to figure out how to win again.
the big ten is fine anything else is sideways or a downgrade.
really I'd rather they make 8, 8 team conferences then a playoff.
thats what was great about the big 8, everyone played everyone and you didn't need a champ game.

Yeah, we will never do better than the Big, hell the Big 12 is a disaster and won't be around in 10 years anyway.
Winning cures all.

 

[Wasker77]

I would hate to see Nebraska leave, as I enjoy the Northwestern-Nebraska series and relative parity, but if you were going back to the Big 12 makes WAAAY more sense.

The SEC has a very different culture (you get looked at if you aren’t dressed like you’re going to church at the games).

The Big 12 has a talent level on par with the AAC or the Big East (is that still a thing?). You could go back and start winning titles.

The South is definitely different when it comes to proper attire to wear at a sporting event. The first time I went to the Dean Dome to watch the Tar Heels with my brother-in-law (Purdue under grad/ UNC MBA) when he drove up to his parents house I was wearing the same thing I would wear to a Husker game. Nice clothes, but casual. He informed me that I should put on a dress shirt and a pair of nicer pair of pants since we had tickets in an alumni/booster area. He was right.

 

[rgrachek]

If this could be pulled off it would be a huge win. Nebraska today doesn't match up with SEC powers but given time in that conference with the boost to recruiting it would bring, and the exposure of playing the best teams in CFB, it would be worth it. The window of opportunity would be now since the SEC has 14 teams and 16 seems a natural upper limit on conference size. I don't believe the SEC would treat Nebraska like an inferior backwater the way the Big 10 has pretty much from the start (voting against AAU membership just because the university has separate facilities in Omaha - including the number one infectious disease lab). Games would be in fun places like Florida and the Bayou. I think one of the current Big 12 members like Oklahoma or Kansas could round out the deal.

You know, if you were to be down here for a while, you'd realize that the SEC East is probably no better overall than the B10 west. Georgia has a lot of talent and Florida is kind of good, but that said, the other 5 teams are pretty bad (Mizzou, Vandy, Kentucky, So. Carolina, and Tennessee). And in the east this year, Alabama is really the only team that is good. LSU is God awful, Auburn and ATM are mediocre, and Ole Miss, MSU, and Arkansas would be at the bottom of either B10 division.

As for the B10, things have happened close to expectations, except I don't think that anyone expected Minnesota to be as bad as they are. Losing to Maryland, a team even we blew out, is pretty scary. Rob Cordday is sucking big time.

 

[bshirt73]

College football is not dying. Why do you think it is dying?

Yeah, I was wondering where that came from too.

 

[RedCap]

Nebraska needs to stay where it is in the B1G unless, and only if, 32 or so top schools break away from the NCAA and set up their own upper league.

 

[husker2612]

If this could be pulled off it would be a huge win. Nebraska today doesn't match up with SEC powers but given time in that conference with the boost to recruiting it would bring, and the exposure of playing the best teams in CFB, it would be worth it. The window of opportunity would be now since the SEC has 14 teams and 16 seems a natural upper limit on conference size. I don't believe the SEC would treat Nebraska like an inferior backwater the way the Big 10 has pretty much from the start (voting against AAU membership just because the university has separate facilities in Omaha - including the number one infectious disease lab). Games would be in fun places like Florida and the Bayou. I think one of the current Big 12 members like Oklahoma or Kansas could round out the deal.

I admit it is fun to think about and wish for. I agree I think Nebraska in the SEC would be a much better cultural fit vs the B1G. I will be all on board if it ever happens. I think the odds of it happening are slim to none. We are going to be in the B1G for the foreseeable future.
The biggest issue is Nebraska football has not been Nebraska football since joining the B1G. We are viewed as an outsider by the league because we came in and most expected Nebraska to be up with the likes of Ohio St, Wisc and Penn St. Not towards the bottom with Rutgers and Illinois. I think we are viewed as not pulling our weight yet being given top dollar. Yes teams like Rutgers, Maryland and Illinois not either, but that is expected.
This Nebraska vs the B1G narrative changes the second we start playing competitive football again. Like Moos said Cook isn't complaining about being an outsider in the B1G. Volleyball is treated as not only an equal but the leader. Nebraska football needs to win plain and simple.

 

[husker2612]

Build that massive training facility, join the SEC. I'm all N!!! Screw the geography argument. Screw the BIG10

I don't think geography would be an issue. We travel farther to Play Rutgers or Maryland than we would to play any SEC team.

 

[bshirt73]

I admit it is fun to think about and wish for. I agree I think Nebraska in the SEC would be a much better cultural fit vs the B1G. I will be all on board if it ever happens. I think the odds of it happening are slim to none. We are going to be in the B1G for the foreseeable future.
The biggest issue is Nebraska football has not been Nebraska football since joining the B1G. We are viewed as an outsider by the league because we came in and most expected Nebraska to be up with the likes of Ohio St, Wisc and Penn St. Not towards the bottom with Rutgers and Illinois. I think we are viewed as not pulling our weight yet being given top dollar. Yes teams like Rutgers, Maryland and Illinois not either, but that is expected.
This Nebraska vs the B1G narrative changes the second we start playing competitive football again. Like Moos said Cook isn't complaining about being an outsider in the B1G. Volleyball is treated as not only an equal but the leader. Nebraska football needs to win plain and simple.

Yep, it's true enough that we "must" start winning games in the near future. Lots of us hardcore NU fans think HCSF is probably our last chance. If he fails, we'll be another Minnesota program. Great for awhile but nothing for a long, long time. Maybe forever.

We just have to slam down the patience pills....it's our only chance. For me, the OLine looked way, wayyyyy better than last year so maybe there's real hope we're starting to get there.

 

[rockout1]

If this could be pulled off it would be a huge win. Nebraska today doesn't match up with SEC powers but given time in that conference with the boost to recruiting it would bring, and the exposure of playing the best teams in CFB, it would be worth it. The window of opportunity would be now since the SEC has 14 teams and 16 seems a natural upper limit on conference size. I don't believe the SEC would treat Nebraska like an inferior backwater the way the Big 10 has pretty much from the start (voting against AAU membership just because the university has separate facilities in Omaha - including the number one infectious disease lab). Games would be in fun places like Florida and the Bayou. I think one of the current Big 12 members like Oklahoma or Kansas could round out the deal.

Nebraska would get killed playing in the SEC plus we already have one team (Tennessee) that still thinks they are relevant nationally when the truth is they haven’t been relative for 20 years...we don’t need another.

 

[SLOHusker]

Missouri and Texas A&M were middling Big 12 teams before they made the move. Texas A&M has been above average and Missouri fairly average but still competitive. Just making the move helped recruiting and exposure. The travel distances also aren't much different, especially if another current Big 12 team joined them. I looked at the hypothetical SEC West and the longest distance is to Baton Rouge (about 900 miles). Playing games in your recruiting territory helps with retention. Players want the chance to play in from of friends and family at least a couple time a year and that is just easier in the SEC. We don't pull any players from the majority of the Big 10. Benhart is the only major recruit I can think of offhand from the Big 10 region in the last couple years.

 

[Eph97]

A lot of loser talk. Consistently losing to Ohio State got PSU fans crying about leaving the B1G for the last 20 years. Now you all are going down that path? Why not try to beat Iowa and Northwestern and win the West? You would be a cellar dweller in the SEC running with the likes of Missippi State and Arkansas.