Facing the Facts: There is NO Disadvantage to Missouri’s SEC Move

Articles asking “Why has Missouri’s Chancellor Brady J Deaton traded one bad situation for the Tigers athletic program for another?” were understandable in the immediate aftermath of the conference realignment announcement, when little information was clear. Now the dust has settled, a little bit of research and fact-finding makes it clear the Tigers will benefit from the move.

"UK is about 470 miles from Columbia, Missouri, Nashville is about 435 miles, and Knoxville is about 610 miles away. Seems difficult to set up recruiting battles and new rivalries when your closest counterpart is at least seven hours away much less the 1,000 plus miles between Columbia and Gainesville. Good luck to the women’s softball team for either school that has to take a bus ride between the two campuses.The SEC has said that the conference alignment with Missouri in the East may only be a temporary solution. That’s reminiscent of a parent telling their child “we’ll get that toy for you next time we come back”. Translation, it ain’t ever going to happen.Does SEC commissioner Michael Slive really expect the Tiger fan base to travel to South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and/or Tennessee a couple of times per season? The clear message from the rest of the conference to Missouri is “thanks for giving us the 21st and 31st biggest television markets in the U.S. good luck the rest of the way you are on your own”."

Missouri played at A&M, Baylor and Arizona State this year. It’s not like Tiger fans didn’t already have to travel for road games. Travel in college sports is nothing new.

"The SEC has seemingly forgotten that Missouri recruits Texas heavily. One would think that having Texas A&M guaranteed on the schedule every year would work in Missouri’s favor in recruiting battles along state lines or within a day’s drive of a parent seeing their child play.Did the SEC also forget that Missouri shares a border with Arkansas? The Tigers’ campus is only 300 miles away from Arkansas’ campus. Seems like a new natural rivalry without needing much media hype. Sorry Razorback and Tiger fans, the SEC does not want to put Alabama and Auburn in the same division with Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee."

As far as not playing against Arkansas or A&M, that has yet to be determined. Under the scheduling formula the SEC has discussed with Mizzou’s addition, Mizzou would play all six of its in-division rivals, have a permanent “rival” in the West division that they’d play once per year, and play each other team in the West once every six years. Either one would be a great rivalry, though it would admittedly lack the historical significance of the rivalry Kansas chose not to continue.

Also, Missouri recruits heavily in Texas, but is probably at best the fifth-most desirable destination for Texas high school football players behind UT, A&M, Texas Tech, and LSU. It might even be behind Baylor and University of Houston too. So Missouri wasn’t getting Texas’ top recruits to begin with, just getting solid high school players who the coaching staff develops into key players.

For example, Henry Josey was only ranked as a three-star recruit by Rivals. He came to Missouri and developed into one of the top running backs in college football this year. Missouri’s success recruiting in Texas comes not from getting the big-name players, but by finding overlooked recruits and developing them well. That won’t change as Missouri moves to the SEC.

"Jokes and financials aside, does the SEC or the University of Missouri ever expect the Tigers to be competitive in the SEC with the current alignment? Why would the SEC allow Missouri to join the conference and promise revenue sharing to a team that may not be able to pull their own football weight because the divisional alignment prohibits the Tigers from being competitive on and off the field?"

The SEC East is far inferior to the West in terms of talent. It’s easy but lazy to say Missouri will fare poorly in the SEC because the SEC has great football teams. By playing in the East, Missouri will not face most of the top teams in the conference, and could easily be competing with Georgia for the SEC East crown.

In summation, Missouri is leaving an unstable conference and will get more money, keep most of its Texas recruiting, recruit more heavily from Atlanta and Florida and be immediately competitive in its division. When looked at from a factual standpoint, the continued complaints about the Tigers’ departure from the Big 12 are poorly thought out and ring hollow.