According to ESPN, The Southeastern Conference has unanimously voted to add the Missouri Tigers as the 14th member to the 79-year old conference.
The Tigers will play in the SEC East with Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Tennesee officially in July 1, 2012.
With their recent expansion complete, it looks like the SEC may have scored another coup in adding two new and untapped markets for recruiting in the St Louis and Dallas/Houston markets—would only help expand its already elite brand of championship football.
Missouri—or Mizzou—as fans of the 33,805 public school based in Columbia, Missouri call them, would open up the Midwest for the SEC and encroach upon the territory of rival BCS conferences, the Big 10 and Big 12.
The addition of both Mizzou and Texas A&M make take the SEC in a new—and more western—direction, but in the Tiger’s move to the SEC may be the wrong one as they a bad fit for the SEC in terms of athletics and geography.
Mizzou would lose long-standing rivalries with Kansas and Nebraska in both basketball and football, and the SEC is far more competitive in football than the Big 12 could ever be.
With the Tigers slated to play in the SEC East, they would face the likes of national powers Georgia and Florida every year in football and national heavyweights Florida, Arkansas and Kentucky in basketball.
Schools such as Florida State, Georgia Tech or Clemson would have been a much better fit—both geographically and athletically—than either Mizzou or Texas A&M.
Whether or not this move was about money or branding, in the case of Mizzou going to the SEC, it may not prove to be worth it.
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I disagree. I think it’s a great fit for both. Plus it ups the academic profile of the SEC as a whole.
Mizzou will be fine in the sec. Mizzou is 20-8-1 all-time vs. The current sec. 7-2 in bowls. Won 4 straight since 2005 -
Alone. Plus, missouri’s tv markets are going to help the sec get their own network and renegotiate tv contracts to make even more $$$$