re: What can the SEC do to try to reclaim its former glory? Is it declining like Rome?

A bit of a decline in football (5 CFP teams still) but now #1 in basketball.

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Collective bargaining would have to become a thing so you can negotiate fair and competitive salaries for all parties involved. You'd have to make them sign contracts that bind them to a school for at least half of their four years of eligibility. From there they'd get one free transfer to another school where they can finish out their playing career without having to sit out a year. If they transfer again they'd have to wait a year before playing.

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Sounds good. Now tell me why the players would ever agree to collectively bargain and agree to such a thing. Why would they? It's the Wild West and the players have all the freedom to do what they want and maximize their rewards. What is in it for them to collectively bargain for restrictions?

You sound as pathetic as the other teams within the SEC who used to cry that only Alabama was paying players

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A lot of it is scheme and roster construction and bad coaching. There’s a reason 7 head coaches turned over this off season.

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Unreasonable expectations fueled by media hype. You have crap teams like Kentucky firing guys acting like someone’s going to take you higher and maintain it. Most of these schools like Auburn and Florida aren’t built to be perennial contenders in a league that has Georgia at its best and Alabama. They think they’re the same, but they’re not.

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If we’re picking arbitrary dates, we can go back to 2013 and say that teams from outside the SEC have won 6 of the last 12. That’s hardly dominant by the SEC.

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I mean...how is 50% for only one conference still not dominant?

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This year will probably make 3 years in a row without a SEC team winning it all. I think Ole Miss is the weakest of the 4 teams left.

Gotta pick up on the recent downward trends and do something before it’s too late.

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The Wild West era of NIL is going to be ending soon and we're moving into a new era starting next year. The Big10 and a few other programs have spent an incredible amount to compete with the SEC. The paradigm is already changing via the NCAA.

Who cares. Frick the soft arse SEC.

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So we’re gonna ignore the SEC’s dominance from 2019-2022

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Claiming COVID years LOL

Of the 12 teams that made the CFP, 5 were from the SEC. Within the bracket there were two games where SEC teams faced each other. That meant at least one SEC team had to lose. There were no other intra conference matchups involving the other conferences.

I think what you are seeing is that the gap between the very top teams of the SEC and the very top teams of the other conferences has shrunk. But, overall, the SEC is still the strongest conference from top to bottom. The league was 11-7 vs. other power conf. opponents in the regular season. The Big 10 was 5-7

Personally, I have never subscribed to "SEC pride". I pull for MY SEC team and love to see my team's rivals lose. But overall, I think parity is a good thing for the sport. I'm sure fans out west, or in the midwest/NE were losing interest watching southern teams dominate the NC every year.

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Now tell me why the players would ever agree to collectively bargain and agree to such a thing. Why would they? It's the Wild West and the players have all the freedom to do what they want and maximize their rewards. What is in it for them to collectively bargain for restrictions?

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You raise good points, hence why it's probably going to take the intervention of Congress to ultimately force the players' hands. Sooner or later some power has to be given to the schools. If collegiate athletes want to be paid like professionals they should be forced to act like professionals. Even the NFL has contracts that bind players to a team for a certain period of time.

The Big ten and SEC have both been filling NFL rosters for a long time. Nobody in here saying the SEC doesn’t have talent. But having NFL draft picks doesn’t guarantee success. Iowa is an NFL factory and they’re not elite, just solid. Like most of the SEC.

With the additions of Oregon and USC and Washington, I can’t imagine the big ten won’t be leading the NFL in terms of pipeline. Those are schools putting out a ton of NFL talent.