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SEC Championship Game
Conference Football Championship
SEC new logo
SEC Logo
Sport Football
Conference Southeastern Conference
Number of teams 2
Current stadium Georgia Dome
Current location Atlanta, Georgia
Played 1992–Present
Last contest 2012 SEC Championship Game
Current champion Alabama Crimson Tide
Most championships Florida Gators (7)
TV partner(s) CBS
Official website SECSports.com Football
Sponsors
Host stadiums
Host locations

The SEC Championship Game refers to the game determining the Southeastern Conference's football season champion. The championship game pits the SEC Western Division representative against the Eastern Division representative in a game held after the regular season has been completed. Thus far, nine of the fourteen SEC members have played in the Championship. Ole Miss and Texas A&M have yet to reach the game from the West. Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Missouri have never represented the East. The Eastern division currently holds an 11-10 advantage in the game.[1]

While 9 out of 14 SEC members have played in the game, only 6 have won, those being Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida of the Eastern Division, and Alabama, Auburn, and LSU of the Western Division.

Since 2008 at least one of the teams competing has been ranked #1 or #2 in the BCS standings heading into the game. The 2008, 2009, and 2012 games were in effect national semi-final games, as both participating teams were virtually guaranteed a birth in the BCS national championship game with a win.

History[]

The SEC was the first conference in the NCAA to hold a football championship game made possible when the conference expanded in 1991 to twelve members with the addition of the University of Arkansas and the University of South Carolina. The format has since been adopted by other conferences to decide their football champion (the first being the Big 12 in 1996).

The first two SEC Championship games were held at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. However, since 1994, the game has been played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.[2]

In 2009, Alabama and Florida met in the SEC Championship Game for the seventh time in the eighteen-year history of the game, the record for the most times any two teams have faced each other in the Championship game. The only other matchup in the SEC Championship played more than twice is Georgia and LSU, which has been played three times. Alabama has faced Florida in seven of their eight SEC Championship game appearances. In addition, the 2009 game marked the second consecutive year that the number 1 (Florida) and number 2 (Alabama) ranked teams in the AP Poll met in the SEC Championship game. 2009 was the first time any conference championship game had featured two undefeated teams. Alabama won 32-13 and earned a berth in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game.

Results[]

Results from all SEC Championship games that have been played.[3] Rankings are from the AP Poll.

Year Eastern Division Western Division Site Attendance MVP
1992 #12 Florida 21 #2 Alabama 28 Legion FieldBirmingham, AL 83,091 CB Antonio Langham, Alabama
1993 #9 Florida 28 #16 Alabama 13 76,345 QB Terry Dean, Florida
1994 #6 Florida 24 #3 Alabama 23 Georgia DomeAtlanta, GA 74,751 DT Ellis Johnson, Florida
1995 #2 Florida 34 #23 Arkansas 3 71,325 QB Danny Wuerffel, Florida
1996 #4 Florida 45 #11 Alabama 30 74,132 QB Danny Wuerffel, Florida
1997 #3 Tennessee 30 #11 Auburn 29 74,896 QB Peyton Manning, Tennessee
1998 #1 Tennessee 24 #23 Mississippi State 14 74,795 WR Peerless Price, Tennessee
1999 #5 Florida 7 #7 Alabama 34 71,500 WR Freddie Milons, Alabama
2000 #7 Florida 28 #18 Auburn 6 73,427 QB Rex Grossman, Florida
2001 #2 Tennessee 20 #21 LSU 31 74,843 QB Matt Mauck, LSU
2002 #4 Georgia 30 #22 Arkansas 3 75,835 QB David Greene, Georgia
2003 #5 Georgia 13 #3 LSU 34 74,913 RB Justin Vincent, LSU
2004 #15 Tennessee 28 #3 Auburn 38 74,892 QB Jason Campbell, Auburn
2005 #13 Georgia 34 #3 LSU 14 73,717 QB D. J. Shockley, Georgia
2006 #4 Florida 38 #8 Arkansas 28 73,374 WR Percy Harvin, Florida
2007 #14 Tennessee 14 #5 LSU 21 73,832 QB Ryan Perrilloux, LSU
2008 #2 Florida 31 #1 Alabama 20 75,892 QB Tim Tebow, Florida
2009 #1 Florida 13 #2 Alabama 32 75,514 QB Greg McElroy, Alabama
2010 #19 South Carolina 17 #1 Auburn 56 75,802 QB Cam Newton, Auburn
2011 #12 Georgia 10 #1 LSU 42 74,515 CB Tyrann Mathieu, LSU
2012 #3 Georgia 28 #2 Alabama 32 75,624 RB Eddie Lacy, Alabama

Results by team[]

Appearances School Wins Losses PCT.
10 Florida 7 3 .700
8 Alabama 4 4 .500
5 LSU 4 1 .800
5 Georgia 2 3 .400
5 Tennessee 2 3 .400
4 Auburn 2 2 .500
3 Arkansas 0 3 .000
1 Mississippi State 0 1 .000
1 South Carolina 0 1 .000

Home/away designation[]

The team designated as the "home" team alternates between division champions; the designation goes to the Eastern champion in even-numbered years and the Western champion in odd-numbered years.

As of the 2012 contest, the designated "home" team is 12–9 overall in SEC championship games.

In 2009, the Western division champion, Alabama, was the home team, ending a streak where the SEC West team had worn white jerseys in nine consecutive SEC Championship Games (2000-2008). This was because LSU has represented the Western division in the previous four seasons that the Western division champion was the "home" team and LSU traditionally chooses to wear white jerseys for home games.[3]

Rematches[]

The SEC Championship game has featured a rematch of a regular season game a total of six times (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010). The team who won the regular season game is 5-1 in the rematches, the lone exception being in 2001 when LSU defeated Tennessee in the championship game after losing to them in the regular season.

Selection criteria[]

Division standings are based on each team's overall conference record. Often, two or more teams tie for the best record in their division and each team is recognized as a divisional co-champion. However, tiebreakers are used to determine who will represent the division in the championship game.[4]

Two-team tie-breaker procedure[]

  1. Head-to-head competition between the two tied teams. Because all division rivals meet during the season and NCAA overtime has made tie games impossible since 1996, this rule will always break the tie barring extreme circumstances (i.e., the tied teams' game was cancelled, or called off while tied, because of bad weather or other emergency and was never rescheduled or completed). However, SEC rules still contain the remaining procedures if those circumstances were to happen.[4]
  2. Records of the tied teams within the division.
  3. Records against the team within the division with the best overall (divisional and non-divisional) Conference record and proceeding through the division. Multiple ties within the division will be broken from first to last.
  4. Complete record vs. all non-divisional opponents.
  5. Complete record vs. all common non-divisional teams if there be any.
  6. Record vs. common non-divisional opponent (if there be any) with the best overall Conference (divisional and non-divisional) record and proceeding through other common non-divisional teams based on their order of finish within their division.
  7. The tied team with the highest ranking in the Bowl Championship Series Standings following the last weekend of regular-season games shall be the divisional representative in the SEC Championship Game.

Three or more-team procedure[]

  1. (Once the tie has been reduced to two teams, go to the two-team tie-breaker format.)
  2. Combined head-to-head record among the tied teams.
  3. Record of the tied teams within the division.
  4. Records against the team within the division with the best overall (divisional and non-divisional) Conference record and proceeding through the division. Multiple ties within the division will be broken from first to last.
  5. Complete record vs. non-division teams.
  6. Complete record vs. all common non-divisional teams.
  7. Record vs. common non-divisional team with the best overall Conference (divisional and non-divisional) record and proceeding through other common non-divisional teams based on their order of finish within their division.
  8. The tied team with the highest ranking in the Bowl Championship Series Standings following the last weekend of regular-season games shall be the divisional representative in the SEC Championship Game, unless the second of the tied teams is ranked within five-or-fewer places of the highest ranked tied team. In this case, the head-to-head results of the top two ranked tied teams shall determine the representative in the SEC Championship Game.

Winner's bowl performance[]

The SEC champion plays in the Sugar Bowl unless they have been selected to play in the BCS Championship Game.[5] Eleven winners of the SEC Championship Game have gone on to win the national title (outright or shared), including seven consecutive titles from 2006-2012. Rankings are from the AP Poll.

Season SEC Champ Result Opponent Opp. Conference Bowl Game National Champion
1992 #2 Alabama W 34-13 #1 Miami Big East 1993 Sugar Bowl Alabama
1993 #8 Florida W 41-7 #3 West Virginia Big East 1994 Sugar Bowl Florida State
1994 #5 Florida L 17-23 #7 Florida State ACC 1995 Sugar Bowl Nebraska
1995 #2 Florida L 24-62 #1 Nebraska Big 8 1996 Fiesta Bowl[6] Nebraska
1996 #3 Florida W 52-20 #1 Florida State ACC 1997 Sugar Bowl Florida
1997 #3 Tennessee L 17-42 #2 Nebraska Big 12 1998 Orange Bowl Nebraska, Michigan[7]
1998 #1 Tennessee W 23-16 #2 Florida State ACC 1999 Fiesta Bowl[8] Tennessee
1999 #5 Alabama L 34-35 OT #8 Michigan Big Ten 2000 Orange Bowl[9] Florida State
2000 #7 Florida L 20-37 #2 Miami Big East 2001 Sugar Bowl Oklahoma
2001 #12 LSU W 47-34 #7 Illinois Big Ten 2002 Sugar Bowl Miami
2002 #4 Georgia W 26-13 #16 Florida State ACC 2003 Sugar Bowl Ohio State
2003 #3 LSU W 21-14 #2 Oklahoma Big 12 2004 Sugar Bowl[10] LSU, USC[11][12]
2004 #3 Auburn W 16-13 #9 Virginia Tech ACC 2005 Sugar Bowl USC[13]
2005 #8 Georgia L 35-38 #13 West Virginia Big East 2006 Sugar Bowl[14] Texas
2006 #2 Florida W 41-14 #1 Ohio State Big Ten 2007 BCS Champ. Game[15] Florida
2007 #2 LSU W 38-24 #1 Ohio State Big Ten 2008 BCS Champ. Game LSU
2008 #2 Florida W 24-14 #1 Oklahoma Big 12 2009 BCS Champ. Game Florida
2009 #1 Alabama W 37-21 #2 Texas Big 12 2010 BCS Champ. Game Alabama
2010 #1 Auburn W 22-19 #2 Oregon Pac-10[16] 2011 BCS Champ. Game Auburn
2011 #1 LSU L 0-21 #2 Alabama SEC 2012 BCS Champ. Game Alabama
2012 #2 Alabama W 42-14 #1 Notre Dame Independent 2013 BCS Champ. Game Alabama

Runner up's bowl performance[]

Rankings are from the AP Poll.

Season SEC Runner Up Result Opponent Opp. Conference Bowl Game
1992 #14 Florida W 27-10 #12 NC State ACC 1992 Gator Bowl
1993 #18 Alabama W 24-10 #12 North Carolina ACC 1993 Gator Bowl
1994 #6 Alabama W 24-17 #13 Ohio State Big Ten 1995 Citrus Bowl
1995 #24 Arkansas L 10-20 North Carolina ACC 1995 Carquest Bowl
1996 #16 Alabama W 17-14 #15 Michigan Big Ten 1997 Outback Bowl
1997 #13 Auburn W 21-17 Clemson ACC 1998 Peach Bowl
1998 #25 Mississippi State L 11-38 #20 Texas Big XII 1999 Cotton Bowl
1999 #10 Florida L 34-37 #9 Michigan State Big Ten 2000 Citrus Bowl
2000 #20 Auburn L 28-31 #17 Michigan Big Ten 2001 Citrus Bowl
2001 #8 Tennessee W 45-17 #17 Michigan Big Ten 2002 Citrus Bowl
2002 #25 Arkansas L 14-29 Minnesota Big Ten 2002 Music City Bowl
2003 #11 Georgia W 34-27 #12 Purdue Big Ten 2004 Capital One Bowl
2004 #15 Tennessee W 38-7 #22 Texas A&M Big XII 2005 Cotton Bowl
2005 #10 LSU W 40-3 #9 Miami ACC 2005 Peach Bowl
2006 #12 Arkansas L 14-17 #6 Wisconsin Big Ten 2007 Capital One Bowl
2007 #16 Tennessee W 21-17 #18 Wisconsin Big Ten 2008 Outback Bowl
2008 #4 Alabama L 17-31 #6 Utah Mountain West 2009 Sugar Bowl
2009 #5 Florida W 51-24 #4 Cincinnati Big East 2010 Sugar Bowl
2010 #19 South Carolina L 17-26 #23 Florida State ACC 2010 Chick-Fil-A Bowl
2011 #18 Georgia L 30-33 #12 Michigan State Big Ten 2012 Outback Bowl
2012 #7 Georgia W 45-31 #16 Nebraska Big Ten 2013 Capital One Bowl

Footnotes[]

  1. The SEC East Leads the series 11-10.
  2. http://www.secsports.com/index.php?change_well_id=9993&s
  3. 3.0 3.1 http://secsports.com/index.php?change_well_id=2&url_article_id=54
  4. 4.0 4.1 SEC Divisional Tie-Breaker (SEC website)
  5. http://www.nokiasugarbowl.com
  6. first year of the Bowl Alliance, which matched the two highest-ranked teams not in the Big Ten or Pac-10 in a national championship game. The Big Ten and Pac-10 champions were still contractually bound to the Rose Bowl, which was not part of the Bowl Alliance. This was also the first year since 1974 that the SEC champion did not play in the Sugar Bowl.
  7. Nebraska shared the 1997 NCAA title with Michigan
  8. first year of the BCS. The Fiesta Bowl was the national championship game. Under BCS rules, the SEC champion plays in the Sugar Bowl unless the Sugar Bowl hosts the national championship game or the SEC champion plays in the national championship game.
  9. Alabama took the spot of ACC champion Florida State in the Orange Bowl, as the Seminoles were selected to play in the BCS national championship game in the Sugar Bowl.
  10. the Sugar Bowl was the BCS national championship game for the 2003 season.
  11. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=1839834
  12. http://media.www.mtsusidelines.com/media/storage/paper202/news/2004/01/14/Sports/Lsu-Usc.Split.National.Championship-580477.shtml
  13. Southern California won the BCS Championship but the title was vacated following an investigation into improper payments to various players. USC retained its AP National Championship.
  14. Game played at Georgia Dome in Atlanta after damage caused to the Louisiana Superdome by Hurricane Katrina.
  15. at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona.
  16. Prior to the 2011 BCS Championship game, the SEC champion had never played the champion from the Pac-12 (established in 1959) in a bowl game. Championship teams from the Pacific Coast Conference, a precursor to the Pac-12, did play SEC Champions in The Rose Bowl Game in 1934, 1937, 1939, 1942, and 1945. The eventual 1978 champions from each league (USC and Alabama) played on September 23, 1978 at Legion Field in Birmingham with USC winning 24-14.

See also[]

  • List of SEC Conference Champions
Other Conference Championship Games

External links[]

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