“Looking ahead, each institution is trying to figure out how to protect their interests, but also what’s in the best interest of the league to help us maintain the success we’ve had. Some rivalries have been lost nationwide in expansion, and we value rivalries. Protecting rivalries is something we clearly want to do. Our goal is get the scheduling done before Destin (at the annual SEC spring business meetings in late May).”
I’m not really sure what the hurry is there. I have a hard time believing they’ll come to a consensus on scheduling before hashing things out with CBS and ESPN. Where things sound like they’re going swimmingly, by the way. (“We have started discussions with both our television partners. We feel adding Texas A&M and Missouri has strengthened us in lots of ways, but it certainly strengthened us in television.” ) But I’d be a little surprised if the conference has its TV deals wrapped up that quickly.
Get The Picture 