The reality of the Southeastern Conference facing a new chapter in its long history is really coming to the forefront with the start of the 2012-2013 college sports year just months away. During recent annual SEC school meetings, the addition of two new schools this upcoming year, Texas A&M and Missouri, meant for new divisional alignment and scheduling that for most of us would boggle the mind.
The SEC announced its championship plan for the new school year, which included stops at Missouri and Texas A&M for conference championships. Missouri will host the Outdoor Track and Field, while Texas A&M will host the Swimming and Diving championships.
The remainder of the SEC title stops includes the 21st consecutive year the football championship will be held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta while Hoover will host the baseball tournament for the 16th straight year. The men?s basketball tourney will be held in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena and the women?s version of the conference title going to the Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia.
Here is the complete rundown of the SEC championships with location and dates:
Baseball: May 21-26, Hoover, Ala.
Men?s Basketball: March 13-17, Nashville, Tenn.
Women?s Basketball: March 6-10, Duluth, Ga.
Cross Country: Oct. 26, Nashville, Tenn.
Football: Dec. 1, Atlanta, Ga.
Men?s Golf: April 19-21, Sea Island, Ga.
Women?s Golf: April 19-21, Birmingham, Ala.
Gymnastics: March 23, North Little Rock, Ark.
Soccer: Oct. 29-Nov. 4, Orange Beach, Ala.
Softball: May 8-11, Lexington, Ky.
Swimming and Diving: Feb. 19-23, College Station, Texas
Men?s Tennis: April 17-21, Oxford, Miss.
Women?s Tennis: April 17-21, Starkville, Miss.
Indoor Track & Field: Feb. 22-24, Fayetteville, Ark.
Outdoor Track and Field: May 9-12, Columbia, Mo.
The sport of Equestrian will be held for the first time this year with dates and locations yet to be determined.
College Football
The college football season is still weeks away, but its not too early to begin thinking ahead fort the 2012 season.
The BCS Championships will be played Jan. 7, in Miami, Fla. To get there, two teams must survive what promises to be a hectic 2012 regular season with some teams also facing conference championship games after the regular campaign is complete.
Which team has the toughest road to the BCS? According to Phil Steele?s Football, the toughest schedule going into the 2012 season is Notre Dame. The Irish kick off the season against Navy in a game to be played in Dublin, Ireland. Notre Dame also has games against BYU, Michigan, Stanford, USC and Oklahoma. Ouch!
Ole Miss? schedule is ranked second followed by Iowa State, Michigan, Florida, Washington, Baylor, Texas A&M, Miami and Kentucky rounding out the top 10.
Other schools of note include South Carolina (13), Auburn (17), Arkansas (19), Missouri (20), Alabama (28), LSU (29) and USC (30).
This entire ranking will change once the season gets underway.
Pop Warner Football
The Pop Warner Football program, which I assisted in getting a stronghold in Madison many years ago when I worked for the Madison Recreation Department, will introduce new rules to limit contact drills to one-third of practice time this year. The 83-year old national youth football program is the first league at any level of football to have restrictions in place on contact levels.
Several studies indicate the high health risks in youth football.
Pop Warner also put into place an additional rule, whereas, full-speed, head-on blocking or tackling drills, in which players line up more than three yards apart is prohibited.
These are great rules for safety, but in the long run you will see a dramatic lack of skills in those areas as the players get older.
Bits and Pieces
The Huntsville Stars will arrive back home on June 26th for an 11-game home stand, including July 4th. All of the games, except for Sunday, July 8, will begin at 6:45. That lone Sunday game will see first pitch at 4 p.m.
Kudos to the young New York Giants football fan that recently mailed $3.36 to Brandon Jacobs who left the Giants for the San Francisco 49ers. The young six-year old was told his favorite football player was making the move from the East Coast to the West Coast because the Giants couldn?t pay Jacobs enough money.
The small boy emptied his piggy bank.
Speaking with departed Bob Jones girl?s basketball head coach Tim Miller, he told me he will always cherish his time spent with the Patriots and excelling the program to new heights in the state. His chance at joining the University of Alabama women?s program as an assistant coach was perfect timing for him personally, as he was looking to make the jump to the collegiate level. Miller joins head coach Wendell Hudson on the Alabama staff.
By Bob Labbe
bob0873@yahoo.com
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