Which SEC Programs have improved their standing

the most over the past 20 years?

If you look simply at the change in their all-time AP Poll ranking over the past 20 years, it shows which programs have risen up / fallen backwards in terms of prestige.

**NOTE: The higher up you were to start, the harder it is to rise. It's a lot easier to rise up when you are rated low to begin with.

BIGGEST MOVERS IN THE SEC:

#1 SOUTH CAROLINA: +13 spots
South Carolina moved up from #70 to #57 in the all-time AP Poll Standings since 1996.
They moved past Wyoming, Indiana, Virginia, Miami (OH), Air Force, Tulsa, Tulane, Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Texas Tech, NC State, Rice, and Mississippi State. They were passed only by Boise State.

Very impressive move upwards for the Gamecocks. Of course that's what hiring two future HOF coaches will do for you.

#2 FLORIDA: +7 spots
Florida moved up from #24 to #17 in the all-time AP Poll Standings since 1996.
They moved past Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Ole Miss, Washington, Texas A&M, Michigan State, and Arkansas. They were passed by no one.

Florida has solidified themselves as an upper echelon SEC program. In the last 20 years, they've moved past three current SEC programs (Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Arkansas) and one former SEC program (Georgia Tech) to sit in 6th place in the league. Not bad for just 20 years.

#3 MISSOURI: +5 spots
Missouri moved from #37 up to #32 in the all-time AP Poll Standings since 1996.
They moved past Syracuse, North Carolina, Arizona State, Navy, Maryland, Duke, Minnesota, and Army. They were passed though by Stanford, TCU, and Oregon.

A five spot move up when you're already inside the Top 40 is pretty solid.... especially when it moves Mizzou in front of multiple National Title holders that combine for 8 total National Championships.

#4 GEORGIA: +3 spots
Georgia moved from #16 up to #13 in the all-time AP Poll Standings since 1996.
We moved past Miami, Arkansas, and UCLA.

Georgia experienced the single biggest move upwards of any program ranked in the Top 16 in 1996. It's hard to move up that far when you are already ranked so high as a program. We now find ourselves log-jammed just behind Auburn, but just ahead of Florida State. These 3 programs have 554, 548, and 544 points, respectively. It's highly possible these 3 programs will be jockeying for the #12 spot for the next several years... as we all try to nip at LSU's heals in the #11 spot.

#5 (TIE) ALABAMA: +2 spots
Alabama moved from #4 up to #2 in the all-time AP Poll standings since 1996.
Alabama passed Michigan and Notre Dame. They were passed by no one.

To move up two entire spots when you were already Top 4 is impressive. Shockingly though, Alabama's gap behind Oklahoma widened despite winning four national titles. Alabama trailed Oklahoma by just two points in 1996 (763 to 761), but now trail the Sooners by 26 points (1,105 to 989). That 26-point gap means even if Alabama finished #1 and Oklahoma was unranked next year, Oklahoma would still hold on to the top spot for at least another year.

#5 (TIE) LSU: +2 spots
LSU moved from #13 up to 311 in the all-time AP Poll Standings since 1996.
They passed Auburn and UCLA. They were passed by no one.

At the current pace, they seem likely to pass Penn State to become a Top 10 program within 3-5 years. It's also in the realm of possibility to catch Tennessee within the next decade.

#7 (TIE) AUBURN: no move
Auburn has stayed put at #12 in the all-time AP Poll Standings since 1996. Auburn moved ahead of UCLA but was passed by LSU.

#7 (TIE) TENNESSEE: no move
Tennessee has stayed put at #9 in the all-time AP Poll Standings since 1996. Tennessee neither passed nor was passed by anyone.

While Tennessee has seen no net movement since 1996, it has fallen back two spots since its peak at #7 in 2001. Between 1996 and 2001, Tennessee passed both Texas and USC. But since 2001, both of those programs passed the Vols once again. Now UT finds itself a whopping 90 points behind #8 Texas. Meaning it would take a decade or more of very strong success with Texas simultaneously struggling to give Tennessee another chance at passing them.

#9 (TIE) TEXAS A&M: -1 spot
Texas A&M fell from #19 to #20 in the all-time AP Poll standings since 1996.
Texas A&M passed no one and was passed by Florida.

#9 (TIE) OLE MISS: -1 spot
Ole Miss fell from #21 to #22 in the all-time AP Poll standings since 1996.
Ole Miss passed Washington but was passed by both Florida and Clemson

#9 (TIE) MISSISSIPPI STATE: -1 spot
Mississippi State fell from #57 to #58 in the all-time AP Poll standings since 1996.
Mississippi passed in front of Kansas, Tulsa, NC State, Kentucky, and Rice. But they were passed by Washington State, Boise State, Kansas State, Virginia Tech, and Oregon.

#12 ARKANSAS: -5 spots
Arkansas fell from #14 to #19 in the all-time AP Poll Standings since 1996.
Arkansas passed no one, but were passed by Michigan State, Florida, Miami, Florida State, and Georgia.

#13 VANDERBILT: -6 spots
Vanderbilt fell from #78 in the all-time AP Poll Standings since 1996.
They passed no one, but were passed by UCF, Marshall, Southern Miss, Colorado State, Cincinnati, and Boise State.

#14 KENTUCKY: -12 spots
Kentucky fell from #51 to #63 in the all-time AP Poll Standings since 1996.
They passed no one, but were passed by Texas Tech, Louisville, NC State, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Oregon State, Washington State, Boise State, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Virginia Tech, and Oregon.