Question: Auburn to the east...

1. Switch Mizzuo and the Barn (west to east).

2. Go to 9 conference games. Keep UT and Barners as permanent rivals.

3. Since, we might play the Barn in the SECCG occasionally, move the Bama/Barn game to the first Saturday in October each year. It puts this intense game in middle of the season, at the peak of the best whether in Alabama in the fall, and it will allow the losing fan base for quick closure and force them to move on quickly with a game the next week.

While I agree the rivalry is probably "too intense" this talk about not playing the Barn annually seems slightly cowardly in light of our recent struggles with little brother. At least that's how many college football fans would see it.

Rama Jama said:

Auburn would never be able to sell tickets without having the Iron bowl every year.

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All the more reason for Bama to want the move IMO. They would have less money for mayhem.

And ESPN has really poisoned all of CFB with their incessant commercials over the years about how we and they hate each other, yes I know they are mostly funny but you guys have to understand how the rest of the country sees us through that ESPN media made lens.

You know it was just a few years ago the conversation was that Auburn wanted to move to the east because of the traditional rivalries they lost with the split, so I'm not sure that maybe Auburn wouldn't embrace a move.

I like eliminating divisions.

The best model that I have seen is : 3 permanent opponents,
5 rotating opponents.
Every conference team plays every other conference team at least twice every four years.

In theory...Bama's three permanent opponents would be Tennessee, Auburn, and Miss State.

At the end of the season the two best teams play for the championship.

Every conference will eventually be 17 teams so add East Carolina and Cincinnati to the east (both good TV markets)and move Mizzo to west - balanced and added markets to the package

Sorry - 16 teams

I believe to have a championship game the NCAA requires you to have divisions and you have to play everyone in your division.

I don't think I'd want to drop the barn as an annual opponent, even if they did go to the east. Would you want to live with the kick six memory for five or six years until they rolled back on the schedule? If they did move and were no longer an annual game, it would look bad for both of us. They'd be accused of ducking us and we'd be accused of orchestrating the move.

If you switched Arkansas and Florida you could have north/south divisions.

Missouri being in the East doesn't bother me that much. The Big Ten has 14 teams and the Big XII has X teams.

AgentAntiOrange said:

There are tons of problems with this idea (not that it doesn't make sense in some ways, but....).

Who gains something significant? Alabama. Alabama drops a bitter foe in a series where Alabama typically has far more to lose than it's opponent.

Who loses something significant? Just about everybody (including Alabama):

• Auburn. Auburn loses a huge part of it's identity and would be affected in recruiting, fundraising, everything.
• The SEC. It currently houses the premiere rivalry game in all of sports. Not just football. Not just college sports. Not just American sports. This is the premiere rivalry game in sports. Period. If you've ever lived outside the U.S. then you have most likely met foreign nationals with no ties to the US who know what this game is.
• The SEC Network. See Above.
• ESPN. See above.
• Mizzou. Joined the SEC, got told they'd never survive, won the East twice, got shipped off to the west. Yeah, Mizzou will just love that.
• Alabama. Tired of poor little Auburn messing our season? Well, hey that's OK! We're Alabama! Beat us too often and we'll just direct the league office to rearrange the conference for us. That will be the national perception. And to be honest, it will likely magnify Auburn's hatred for us by 100. And because Alabama and Auburn fans live & work together, our hatred (as a fan base) will multiply as well. And if we ever met in the SEC CG you can bet that every Auburn player on the field would rather die on that field than give us an inch. And still, once again, it won't mean to us what it does to them. X 1000.

IMHO, this would be viewed nationally as one of the most cowardly moves in the history of sports. And I would agree.

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Completely agree. I'm dumbfounded by the number of posters suggesting we no longer play Auburn.

Crimson1967 said:

I believe to have a championship game the NCAA requires you to have divisions and you have to play everyone in your division.

I don't think I'd want to drop the barn as an annual opponent, even if they did go to the east. Would you want to live with the kick six memory for five or six years until they rolled back on the schedule? If they did move and were no longer an annual game, it would look bad for both of us. They'd be accused of ducking us and we'd be accused of orchestrating the move.

If you switched Arkansas and Florida you could have north/south divisions.

Missouri being in the East doesn't bother me that much. The Big Ten has 14 teams and the Big XII has X teams.

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I believe I heard that the ACC is trying to get the rule changed about having to have divisions to have a championship game.

Tidefan1 said:

Completely agree. I'm dumbfounded by the number of posters suggesting we no longer play Auburn.

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Lol, thank you. I was beginning to feel pretty alone as my dislikes mounted. We can argue the merits of would it or won't it benefit Alabama. However, IHMO, there is no debating how it would be perceived both nationally and by some schools within the conference.

Crimson1967 said:

I believe to have a championship game the NCAA requires you to have divisions and you have to play everyone in your division.

I don't think I'd want to drop the barn as an annual opponent, even if they did go to the east. Would you want to live with the kick six memory for five or six years until they rolled back on the schedule? If they did move and were no longer an annual game, it would look bad for both of us. They'd be accused of ducking us and we'd be accused of orchestrating the move.

If you switched Arkansas and Florida you could have north/south divisions.

Missouri being in the East doesn't bother me that much. The Big Ten has 14 teams and the Big XII has X teams.

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Problem with North and South is most of your tougher conference teams (historically) are in the south, geographically speaking...TAMU, LSU, MSU, OM, Bama, Barn, Florida, Georgia.

North would be: Mizzou, Ark., KY, Vandy, UT, South Car., (would have to figure out a south team to be in the North).

IIRC, moving AU to the east was considered by the SEC during the last expansion so the Mizzou could be in the west which is geographically correct. AU said they would move to the east if Bama would make them our permanent rival and give up UT. They were offended that Bama valued the rivalry with UT more than the rivalry with them even though the UT rivalry has been going on longer. As a result, AU refused to move to the east.

AU needs Bama to be relevant; Bama does not need AU to be relevant. We have been a national power for decades; AU has become a nationally known team by being associated with Bama.

BamaMoon said:

Problem with North and South is most of your tougher conference teams (historically) are in the south, geographically speaking...TAMU, LSU, MSU, OM, Bama, Barn, Florida, Georgia.

North would be: Mizzou, Ark., KY, Vandy, UT, South Car., (would have to figure out a south team to be in the North).

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Georgia would be in the North. But I agree from a historical perspective, it makes the West even stronger if you add Florida and drop Arkansas.

Guys, this is never going to happen. It makes too much sense. If sense had anything to do with it, they would have kept the BCS and used the top 4 teams. You're giving the PTB too much credit.

Tidefan1 said:

Completely agree. I'm dumbfounded by the number of posters suggesting we no longer play Auburn.

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Okay. Keep the Barn in the west, but can we keep the "nuke'em from orbit" policy?

Or just move Auburn to the ACC and be done with them!

How about moving Auburn somewhere slightly East of Georgia, moving Big Mo. to the West.
Play a 9 game conference schedule, with the 9th game being a rotating team from the other division.
Keep the SEC Conference Game.

Move Auburn far enough East and they would dominate the Caribbean Conference.
They always wanted to be a 'Big Fish'...

I like "Auburn to the Sun Belt" better.

B1GTide said:

Everything runs in cycles, and coaching has determined the current ebb in the SECe, but that will change.

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About 8yrs ago it was the East that was dominating the conference, with Florida, Georgia, and Tenn.

Really the imbalance has come with the demise of Florida as a dominating team in the East.

I would not mind should the barn go to the east. However, as many have stated, the rivalry / iron bowl will most likely continue.. forever. The game/rivalry yields a lot of hate at times and imo it detracts from the match ups on the field. I never liked the barn coming to BDS and miss playing them at Legion Field. RTR

Lets just kick out Missouri and Texas A@M, why because I want to.