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The SEC has far many more choices than does the B1G.

In the B1G footprint, there is Pitt, Cuse, KU, KSU, ISU. 

Oh boy.

The SEC has far many more choices than does the B1G.

And fewer requirements to boot, aside from $$$.  None of this AAU thing (which pertains to graduate programs mostly).

The SEC would jump all over UNC I think, and it has been rumored.

The B1G doesn't need to expand within its footprint, exactly. 

Don't need Pitt, Cuse, ISU or KSU. Kansas might be worthwhile for basketball. As much as I hate to say it, Notre Dame would be good if we can sell them on the B1G being a better landing spot than the ACC. 

The best option is also outside the footprint, and to try to pry UVA/UNC out of the ACC. But I don't know that they'll try to leave unless the writing is on the wall that the ACC is getting killed, and I don't think the writing would be on the wall that the ACC is getting killed without UVA and UNC jumping ship.

Kansas and Syracuse wouldn't be horrible, though. Kansas shores up our basketball situation and Syracuse isn't all that bad of a fit to add with Rutgers and Maryland out East... But I worry it would be seen as a desperation add.

Did the SEC benefit by adding Mizzou and A&M?  I don't know how to measure that.

Only if you assume some sort of financial benefit from exposure to the TV sets in two states with a combined 36M TV viewers.

I don't think the conference saw any competitive advantage from either addition.

That said, I don't think anything about either addition harmed the SEC either. Mizzou is the flagship university in Missouri, and Texas A&M is a solid school with a lot of history, even if it's not the state's flagship.

AAU isn't a thing anymore.

It's gone entirely, or no longer a B1G requirement?  I know Nebbie lost that status for some bookkeeping reason.

UGA-Auburn is considered an important rivalry, but so is Tenn-Bama as well.

I get it and I did know that for both of those but I could only keep so many.  

For UGA I considered Florida to be their most important (WLOCP).  For Auburn obviously their most important is Bama.  

I just don't see Tennessee/Bama as an important rivalry anymore.  Historically it was because historically those were the SEC's top two programs.  From 1946-1998 Bama and Tennessee were #6 and #9 respectively in national win%, easily the best two among SEC teams.  FWIW, UGA was third in the SEC, #15 nationally.  

From 1999-2020 Bama is still #1 in the SEC (#5 nationally) and after them you have UGA (#6), LSU (#7), UF (#13), Auburn (#19), and aTm (#35) all before Tennessee (#37).  

I'm not a southerner or an SEC guy so if you think that is still just vitally important I'll take your word for it but as an outsider I wouldn't even know Bama/TN was a thing if it wasn't for this board.  

That is the problem with the current B12, small market teams, too many of them.

And I'll add, too many secondary schools even in their own markets:

• TCU, Baylor, and TxTech are all tertiary in Texas behind the Longhorns and Aggies.  
• Iowa State is secondary in Iowa behind the Hawkeyes
• OkSU is secondary in Oklahoma behind the Sooners
• KSU is secondary in Kansas behind the Jayhawks (maybe vice-versa in football)

Texas is a large enough state to support multiple schools but I'm not sure about five of them.  Texas' population is almost 30M but if you divide that by five you get 6M so even if fandom was evenly distributed among Tx, aTm, TxTech, TCU, and Baylor you'd only be effectively getting 6M pop base behind each school.  Realistically it is probably more like 15-20M for the Longhorns and 5-10M for the Aggies then not very much each for TCU, Baylor, and TxTech.  

Oklahoma's population is about 4M.  That is enough to support the Sooners (largely because they have a lot of fans in surrounding states and beyond but not a second school (OkSU).  

Iowa's population is a little over 3M which is SMALL by B1G standards but it isn't too bad for the Hawkeyes.  The Cyclones, not so much.  

Kansas' population is just under 3M which could maybe support one major school, not two.  

By comparison here are the B1G states:

• #5 nationally, PA, 12.8M one school (Pitt is also P5 but nowhere close to PSU in fan support)
• #6 nationally, IL, 12.7M, two schools.  
• #7 nationally, OH, 11.7M, one school.  
• #10 nationally, MI, 10.0M, two schools.  
• #11 nationally, NJ, 8.9M, one school.  
• #17 nationally, IN, 6.7M, two schools (ND is also "P5" but their support is more national than geographic)
• #19 nationally, MD, 6.0M, one school.  
• #20 nationally, WI, 5.8M, one school.  
• #22 nationally, MN, 5.6M, one school.  
• #32 nationally, IA, 3.2M, one school (ISU is also P5 but nowhere close to IA in fan support).  
• #38 nationally, NE, 1.9M, one school.