The easy recipe for a 13-team SEC schedule

[pmull]

First, we assume that every SEC member will play eight conference games.

Second, we assume Texas A&M goes into the SEC West Division.

Third, there must be 18 inter-divisional (East vs. West) games to balance the schedule.

That means three teams in the West play six divisional games and four teams in the West play five divisional games. There is no way, with 13 teams, for the division with an odd number of teams to play a perfect intra-divisional round robin.

For the sake of reducing travel time for student-athletes, let's say the three teams that are farthest west geographically - Arkansas, LSU and Texas A&M - play six division games and the other four teams in the division - Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss and Mississippi State - play five. No one is tampering with the Iron Bowl or the Egg Bowl, so let's say the following two games are eliminated: Alabama vs. Ole Miss and Auburn vs. Mississippi State. That makes your West schedule complete.

Then you schedule your East vs. West games. Alabama could actually have the three games against East teams that it would have had in 2012 anyway: Georgia, Tennessee and Vandy. Auburn would play (hypothetically) Florida, Georgia and Kentucky. All the current "permanent" East-West pairings - Alabama-Tennessee, Auburn-Georgia, LSU-Florida, etc. - would remain intact.

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[2Stater]

[pmull]

A 13 team schedule could work but the reality is... we need a 14th team.

[cbbama99]

Math is hard

[ricky023]

  pmull. I think you have an answer and a perfect fit. Your Math is out of this world. RTR!

[Coach Hank Crisp]

Even the writer of the column, Cecil Hurt, is now unsure.

CecilHurt Cecil Hurt
It is not unprecedented in the SEC to have teams playing an unequal number of conference games.
8 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply »


 CecilHurt Cecil Hurt
The "simple" solution is that you play two more West games (4 teams w/ 9 SEC games) and award division titles based on division record.
9 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply »


 CecilHurt Cecil Hurt
Thanx to those who pointed out NCAA Bylaw 17.9.5.2, especially @yesh222TSHQ and @bappster. Requires a round-robin for SEC Championship Game.
10 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

[cbbama99]

Dang, if Cecil don't know, then what hope do we have? 

[Coach Hank Crisp]

 

CecilHurt Cecil Hurt
Modified story on 13-gm sked & NCAA Bylaw 17.9.5. Grateful for my sharp readers. This is why I have triskaidekaphobia. Click here for link
16 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Here is version 2.0 released by Cecil Hurt.

So simple even a caveman can do it?

Click here for link

The easy recipe for a 13-team SEC scgedule

Author's Note: The math was simple. NCAA Bylaw 17.9.5.2-c that requires "round-robin" regular-season competition, though, could require two additional West games, resulting in an unbalanced total (i.e., four teams in the West playing nine SEC games). Accounting for that (unless the bylaw is amended) isn't so simple. Thanks to readers who pointed that out.

TUSCALOOSA | We don't know how many members the Southeastern Conference will have next season, but 13 seems like a possible number. So I decided to work out a feasible schedule based on 13 teams this morning.

First, we assume that every SEC member will play eight conference games.

Second, we assume Texas A&M goes into the SEC West Division.

Third, there must be 18 inter-divisional (East vs. West) games to balance the schedule.

That means three teams in the West play six divisional games and four teams in the West play five divisional games. There is no way, with 13 teams, for the division with an odd number of teams to play a perfect intra-divisional round robin.

For the sake of reducing travel time for student-athletes, let's say the three teams that are farthest west geographically - Arkansas, LSU and Texas A&M - play six division games and the other four teams in the division - Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss and Mississippi State - play five. No one is tampering with the Iron Bowl or the Egg Bowl, so let's say the following two games are eliminated: Alabama vs. Ole Miss and Auburn vs. Mississippi State. That makes your West schedule complete.

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