Southeastern Conference

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is one of the five most popular and competitive American college athletic conferences (known informally as the Power Five). Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, the conference is made up of fourteen colleges located in the Southeastern and South Central United States. 

History of the SEC

Six of the current SEC schools began competing against one another as part of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1894. As the popularity of collegiate football, basketball, and track increased, the SIAA expanded, gaining twelve additional institutions in 1895 and eleven more in 1920. At a meeting in Knoxville, Tennessee, in late 1932, the SEC was officially formed while the remaining members of the SIAA joined The Southern Conference. The founding SEC schools at that meeting were University of Alabama, Auburn University, University of Florida, University of Georgia, Georgia Tech University, University of Kentucky, Louisiana State University, University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, Sewanee: The University of the South, University of Tennessee, Tulane University, and Vanderbilt University. Over the next eight decades, the SEC continued to grow and shift along with the collegiate landscape of southeastern America.

What schools are in the SEC?

The SEC is made up of thirteen public universities and one private research university. Though they were a unified conference for the first six decades of their formation, the addition of the University of Arkansas and the University of South Carolina in 1991 marked a departure. According to a national bylaw, conferences with 12 or more teams are allowed to split into divisions and still play a championship game to finish the season. As such, the SEC was divided into an East Division and West Division. Since 2012, the East Division has been composed of Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt while the West Division is made up of Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, and Texas A&M. With the addition of the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas set to happen in 2025, there is much speculation as to which program will join which division and if the current existing divisions will be wholly realigned to make room for the new teams. 

The SEC and its schools participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 for all sports competitions and the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for football specifically. The divisional structuring into East and West is only applied to the scheduling and standing structure of football, baseball, and women’s soccer teams, with the two football division winners competing against one another in the SEC Championship Game.

List of SEC Teams by Division

SEC East Division:

• University of Florida
• University of Georgia
• University of Kentucky
• University of Missouri
• University of South Carolina
• University of Tennessee
• Vanderbilt University

SEC West Division:

• Auburn University
• Louisiana State University
• Mississippi State University
• Texas A&M University
• University of Alabama
• University of Arkansas
• University of Mississippi

FAQ