Lexington, KY - Rob Yowell saw the writing on the wall in 1992 as a graduate student at Ohio University. He just wishes he had profited from it.
Yowell wrote his graduate school thesis on the eventual change of the collegiate sports landscape. He predicted a structure of six super conferences, divvying up the nation and the windfall of dollars he expected to result. Now, as president of Gemini Sports, a sponsorship sales, strategic consulting and sports marketing firm based in Scottsdale, Ariz., Yowell said he just shakes his head. He has an almost I-told-you-so attitude, as his predictions are becoming more and more true 20 years later.
"I just laugh," Yowell said. "And my other thesis was on how athletic directors were going to basically become CEOs. I should've published them both and gotten paid."
The irony, according to Yowell, is that the Southeastern Conference's recent absorption of Texas A&M and Missouri from the Big 12 wasn't about money - at least not at a macro level.
Nearly all of the other conference realignments have been centered on expanding each league's media footprint and thus padding its coffers. That's not a problem for the SEC, even without the benefit of having a member institution based in one of the major television markets such as New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. The conference is two years into a 15-year deal with ESPN worth a reported $3 billion to broadcast a variety of sports, but specifically football, along with men's and women's basketball. The league also entered into a 15-year arrangement with CBS in 2008 for an average of $55 million annually over the course of that deal. Money, it seems, isn't in short supply for the SEC.
Yowell instead indicated the move was more about broadening recruiting scope and deepening its already vast pool of athletic talent, especially in football. As to where the Atlantic Coast Conference added Syracuse in an effort to broaden its reach into New York and the Big East has brought in the likes of Boise State in an effort to just remain relevant, he said the SEC's moves have nothing to do with increasing its media exposure or even simply surviving.
"The SEC doesn't need to add. It doesn't need to do what the Big East had to do and become the Big East of Everywhere," Yowell said. "It's a strategic play. The decisions weren't focused on a media market as much as a recruiting market. It gave them two flags in two states where there's talent. And that has to be a good thing. "
While the SEC may be set financially, the addition of two more teams could take time to have an economic impact - either good or bad - on the local level.
Especially in Lexington, as dates for when the University of Kentucky will play host to either Missouri or Texas A&M have yet to be determined. The 2012-'13 basketball schedule will not be released until later this year, and the Wildcats' football team will play a road game on Oct. 27 at Columbia, Mo. Non-revenue sports schedules are also still being compiled.
As for traveling to that initial football game, as well as for contests in other sports, Kentucky media relations director Tony Neely said the athletic program's travel budget should remain roughly the same.
"The number of contests aren't changing," Neely said. "Obviously, they're new opponents that we'll need to adjust to playing each year. Other than that, they're just opponents on the SEC schedule."
The change may be a little more difficult for the new schools, however. While programs such as Kentucky's will be adding only two travel destinations, Missouri and Texas A&M have to get acquainted with 12 new locales for a bevy of sports. That means planning out everything from transportation and housing to where the teams will eat.
The adjustment is being eased by the SEC through a transition team for the new members as well as its existing schools. The conference hosted representatives from the schools in mid-January for an informal meeting in Birmingham, Ala., to go over basics such as the SEC bylaws, but to also provide a best-practices forum among the schools to help alleviate any roadblocks that may occur regarding the new teams competing in the SEC and vice-versa. Chad Moller, Missouri's associate athletic director of media relations, also said the Tigers have had multiple conversations with Texas A&M, which announced its move to the SEC two months before Missouri. And while interest in that initial game against one of the SEC's new members has yet to build in Lexington, that hasn't been the case in Missouri, which will play host to three other current SEC teams this upcoming football season in addition to the Wildcats (Georgia, Vanderbilt and Alabama).
"There's a big general excitement about the [Kentucky] game," Moller said. "We fully anticipate the game to be a sellout when the time comes. I know there was a big run on hotels here in town that weekend. I don't know if there are many, if any, hotel rooms left, so that's definitely a good sign. Everyone is very much looking forward to starting a new rivalry."
It remains to be seen if a similar impact will occur when one of the new SEC teams visits Lexington. It's also unknown when all of the conference shuffling will be complete.
Yowell said he expects more moves to be made, including an eventual move by Notre Dame in the near future to give up an independent status that's become more difficult to maintain in this age of the super conference. He doesn't, however, see any additional additions to the now 14-team SEC.
"The SEC has deep traditions and roots. They're kind of setting the rules here," Yowell said. "I think they're done with where they want to go."