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sCar/Ark fans, tell me about your move to the SEC in the early 90's
Posted on 5/26/25 at 11:36 pm
Posted on 5/26/25 at 11:36 pm
Obviously questions for the older crowd.
What was the outlook like at this time for your school? What was the general rationale for making the change?
Tell me about anything really.
What was the outlook like at this time for your school? What was the general rationale for making the change?
Tell me about anything really.
This post was edited on 5/27/25 at 6:38 am
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Posted on 5/27/25 at 1:50 am to SPAGHETTI PLATE
Arkansas accepted in the summer of 90. Basketball started competing 91, football in 92.
For the previous 35 years Arkansas was top 10 in winning percentage in football nationally.
Arkansas had just been to the final four in basketball the previous season.
In baseball had been to 4 college World Series with a runner up in the previous 11 years. This includes 3 trips to the CWS in the previous 6 seasons.
Arkansas was winning national championships in track.
So Arkansas was a highly respected program in those 4 sports.
We were glad to get invited and accepted to the SEC. It was sad to lose some of the rivalries in the SWC, but Frank Broyles had the foresight and the clout to peak interest from the SEC (mainly this would allow for a conference championship game in football which would be a financial windfall for the conference).
Most fans also saw the SEC as a much more prestigious conference and we felt honored to be invited.
For the previous 35 years Arkansas was top 10 in winning percentage in football nationally.
Arkansas had just been to the final four in basketball the previous season.
In baseball had been to 4 college World Series with a runner up in the previous 11 years. This includes 3 trips to the CWS in the previous 6 seasons.
Arkansas was winning national championships in track.
So Arkansas was a highly respected program in those 4 sports.
We were glad to get invited and accepted to the SEC. It was sad to lose some of the rivalries in the SWC, but Frank Broyles had the foresight and the clout to peak interest from the SEC (mainly this would allow for a conference championship game in football which would be a financial windfall for the conference).
Most fans also saw the SEC as a much more prestigious conference and we felt honored to be invited.
This post was edited on 5/27/25 at 1:52 am
Posted on 5/27/25 at 6:06 am to SPAGHETTI PLATE
It was a "finally we have a home" moment. The best move this university ever made. The exposure and payoff are more than even I could have expected. We took a beating but that was expected.
This post was edited on 5/27/25 at 6:07 am
Posted on 5/27/25 at 6:54 am to SPAGHETTI PLATE
We were all excited as we were tired of getting screwed over by the SWC and funding the TX private schools. I don’t think any of us understood the level of football we were getting into.
I remember that first SEC basketball tournament. It was awesome.
I remember that first SEC basketball tournament. It was awesome.
Posted on 5/27/25 at 7:11 am to Razorhead
This is true too.
Posted on 5/27/25 at 7:42 am to SPAGHETTI PLATE
SC had the stones to tell the ACC to kiss our arse.
It caused us to wander in the desert for 20+ years, but it paid off with the jump to the SEC.
Out football program was not equipped to make the move, and it took close to a decade to field competitive teams. Basketball had some early success, but has had a jekyll/Hyde existence since. Baseball was competitive off the bat, but has fallen off a table.
Joining the SEC was tantamount to The Great Leap forward. A lot of lumps along the way, but it's paid tremendous dividends. Culturally, SC is a much better fit for the SEC than any other program that would have been available in 91/92.
It caused us to wander in the desert for 20+ years, but it paid off with the jump to the SEC.
Out football program was not equipped to make the move, and it took close to a decade to field competitive teams. Basketball had some early success, but has had a jekyll/Hyde existence since. Baseball was competitive off the bat, but has fallen off a table.
Joining the SEC was tantamount to The Great Leap forward. A lot of lumps along the way, but it's paid tremendous dividends. Culturally, SC is a much better fit for the SEC than any other program that would have been available in 91/92.
Posted on 5/27/25 at 9:32 am to RoyalAir
quote:
SC had the stones to tell the ACC to kiss our arse.
The dislike Gamecocks have for the state of North Carolina is palpable. For our older fans it's pure rage.
Posted on 5/27/25 at 9:56 am to SCLibertarian
quote:
The dislike Gamecocks have for the state of North Carolina is palpable. For our older fans it's pure rage.
Posted on 5/27/25 at 9:57 am to Larry Seinfeld
quote:
For the previous 35 years Arkansas was top 10 in winning percentage in football nationally.
Arkansas had just been to the final four in basketball the previous season.
In baseball had been to 4 college World Series with a runner up in the previous 11 years. This includes 3 trips to the CWS in the previous 6 seasons.
Arkansas was winning national championships in track.
So Arkansas was a highly respected program in those 4 sports.
I had forgotten how unfairly Arkansas was treated in the SWC.
What a bunch of friggin' crybabies.
Clearly second in the SWC below only Texas with Aggy in a distant third. Yet all you Pig People could do was cry about the Texas officials as if none were provided from Arkansas.
Of course when you left for the SEC your pipeline of Texas recruiting dried up completely, and you haven't accomplished a single thing since.
Crybabies
This post was edited on 5/27/25 at 10:00 am
Posted on 5/27/25 at 9:58 am to SPAGHETTI PLATE
quote:
Obviously questions for the older crowd.
Posted on 5/27/25 at 10:06 am to hookem2522
I'm not a pig apologist by any means, but Texas is the common denominator when it comes to conference destruction. Care to explain the connection?
Posted on 5/27/25 at 10:10 am to SPAGHETTI PLATE
The 4 Tobacco Road schools (UNC, Duke, State and Wake) ran the ACC for their benefit and only their benefit. The SC schools were treated like ugly stepchildren. Our BOT told them to f off and we left. Clemson's BOT chickened out at the last minute and they stayed. Had they left the ACC with us, they'd have gotten our invite.
Posted on 5/27/25 at 10:10 am to Larry Seinfeld
Huge mistake for Arkansas.
Posted on 5/27/25 at 10:11 am to SPAGHETTI PLATE
It's a long story with a lot of moving parts. But the short version is that, in the ACC, not all animals are equal. The TarHoles do what they want, and made sure that SC (and Clemson, honestly) were treated like steerage passengers.
SC told the ACC to get wrecked, and left. Older Gamecocks pull against UNC at every available opportunity. Still our second-most hated rival.
SC told the ACC to get wrecked, and left. Older Gamecocks pull against UNC at every available opportunity. Still our second-most hated rival.
Posted on 5/27/25 at 10:16 am to hookem2522
quote:
I had forgotten how unfairly Arkansas was treated in the SWC.
What a bunch of friggin' crybabies.
Clearly second in the SWC below only Texas with Aggy in a distant third. Yet all you Pig People could do was cry about the Texas officials as if none were provided from Arkansas.
Of course when you left for the SEC your pipeline of Texas recruiting dried up completely, and you haven't accomplished a single thing since.
Crybabies
Posted on 5/27/25 at 10:21 am to Razorhead
Ken Hatfield leaving couldn't come at a worse time.
Posted on 5/27/25 at 10:28 am to SPAGHETTI PLATE
That was the last expansion I was excited for because there was a real reason for it. No offense to the 4 added more recently, but that 12 team SEC was a whole lot of fun with the addition of the SECCG. I was also a big proponent of the BCS, so those were just fun times all around.
Posted on 5/27/25 at 10:34 am to SPAGHETTI PLATE
I was young, but it excited me to see Arkansas play new teams in football and basketball. Three years in and Arkansas won the West and played in Atlanta.
Basketball was really rolling though. Coming into the league and playing big games with Kentucky was great. The program never missed a beat coming from the SWC to the SEC. Then The Bud was built to replace Barnhill.
Baseball at that time was not as popular as it is now...but Baum was built in the mid 1990's and then expanded again a few years later.
Really enjoyed coming into the league with South Carolina and wished our football teams still played, as we did every year prior to the last expansion.
Basketball was really rolling though. Coming into the league and playing big games with Kentucky was great. The program never missed a beat coming from the SWC to the SEC. Then The Bud was built to replace Barnhill.
Baseball at that time was not as popular as it is now...but Baum was built in the mid 1990's and then expanded again a few years later.
Really enjoyed coming into the league with South Carolina and wished our football teams still played, as we did every year prior to the last expansion.
Posted on 5/27/25 at 10:39 am to Faurot fodder
quote:
I'm not a pig apologist by any means, but Texas is the common denominator when it comes to conference destruction. Care to explain the connection?
The Big Bad Wolf gets blamed for everything since the beginning of time.. regardless of the situation..
If the economy sucks, everyone blames the President because he is the easy target.. but he isn't the only person to blame.
Texas A&M could easily be blamed the same as Texas for the SWC and Big 12 issues, but they do not get blamed for any of it.. Why? Because they were below Arkansas in the pecking order.
If the SEC falls apart, do you think anyone will blame Auburn? Ole Miss? Vanderbilt? Kentucky? Arkansas?
Nope. They will blame Texas and/or Alabama.
---------------------
Arkansas was the 1st domino and Arkansas blames Texas because Texas was the only school they could blame, unless they were going to blame themselves..
The biggest target is always the Big Bad Wolf.. in every situation.. because it fits the agenda that ____ is trying to accomplish.
Did Texas play a role? I'm sure.. but they weren't alone.
--------------------
Look at the ACC. If it falls apart.. who will be blamed?
Answer 1 - Texas. When Texas left for the SEC, Texas forced teams to reevaluate their position or get left behind.
Answer 2 - North Carolina, because they held the conference together. The ACC can survive if FSU & Clemson leave.. it will just be more basketball focused.
Answer 3 - ESPN (Disney)
This post was edited on 5/27/25 at 10:43 am
Posted on 5/27/25 at 10:40 am to BhamTigah
quote:
that first SEC basketball tournament. It was awesome.
It really was.
1) seeing the Ark fans calling the hogs in the BJCC plaza outside the arena before the semi’s that Saturday was something I had never seen. I randomly walked up on it. So Loud. Thousands of people.
2) Ark/Ala best game I’ve ever seen in person.
3) Kentucky/Pitino were back.
4) Tennessee/LSU fight was pretty unexpected.
5) it was my last year of college and was able to get tix to all the games.
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