The Southeastern Conference

Website:  http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com

The SEC was established on December 8 and 9, 1932, when the thirteen members of the Southern Conference located west and south of the Appalachian Mountains left to form their own conference. Ten of the thirteen founding members have remained in the conference since its inception: the University of Alabama, Auburn University, the University of Florida, the University of Georgia, the University of Kentucky, Louisiana State University ("LSU"), the University of Mississippi ("Ole Miss"), Mississippi State University, the University of Tennessee, and Vanderbilt University.

The other charter members were:
* The University of the South ("Sewanee") left the SEC on December 13, 1940, and later de-emphasized varsity athletics. It is currently a member of the Division III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, but will leave that conference in July 2012, along with six other SCAC members, to form a new Division III conference to be known as the Southern Athletic Association.

* Georgia Institute of Technology ("Georgia Tech") left the SEC in 1964. In 1975, it became a founding member of the Metro Conference, one of the predecessors to today's Conference USA. Georgia Tech competed in the Metro Conference in all sports except football, in which it was independent. In 1978, Georgia Tech joined another Southern Conference offshoot, the Atlantic Coast Conference, for all sports, where it has remained.

* Tulane University left the SEC in 1966. Along with Georgia Tech, it was a charter member of the Metro Conference. Unlike Tech, however, Tulane remained in the Metro Conference until it merged with the Great Midwest Conference and became the new Conference USA in 1995. Tulane remained an independent in football until C-USA began football competition in 1996.

In 1991, the SEC expanded from ten to twelve member universities with the addition of:
* University of Arkansas (see Arkansas Razorbacks for team history before SEC); and

* University of South Carolina (see South Carolina Gamecocks for team history before SEC).

The two new teams joined for the 1991-1992 basketball season. At the same time, the SEC split into two divisions-a Western Division comprising most of the schools in the Central Time Zone, and an Eastern Division comprising the schools in the Eastern Time Zone plus Vanderbilt (which is located in the Central Time Zone, but is in the Eastern Division to preserve its rivalry with Tennessee, while Alabama and Auburn are in the same division to preserve theirs despite Auburn being further east than Vanderbilt). This divisional format remains in place today for football and baseball; the divisions have been eliminated for basketball.

Also in 1992, the SEC was the first conference to receive permission from the NCAA to sponsor an annual football championship game, featuring the winners of the conference's Eastern and Western divisions. The 1992 and 1993 SEC Championships were held at Birmingham's Legion Field, and have since been held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

2012 expansion

On September 25, 2011, the SEC Presidents and Chancellors, acting unanimously, announced that Texas A&M University will join the SEC effective July 1, 2012, with Texas A&M to begin competition in nineteen of the twenty sports sponsored by the SEC during the 2012-13 academic year. On November 6, 2011 the SEC commissioner announced that the University of Missouri will also be joining the SEC on July 1, 2012. For football, Texas A&M will compete in the Western Division, and Missouri in the Eastern Division.

While nothing has been set in stone, it is rumored that the SEC will further expand by adding two additional teams. More than likely, these two teams will be added to the Eastern Division of the SEC, allowing Missouri to switch to the Western Division.

All records are ON FIELD records, including Bowl Games, Classics, Forfeits, Playoffs and/or Vacated games.

Inaugural Game is based on dates. If the indicated "Inaugural Game" is incorrect, it's because the date for that game is not set (as in we do not have this information).