SEC Championship Game
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This article covers the SEC championship football game. For info on other SEC championships see the SEC Tournament article.
The Southeastern Conference, or SEC, hosts a conference championship game in football each year. The championship game pits the SEC Western Division champion versus the Eastern Division champion in a game held after the regular season has been completed.
The championship game has been held since the conference expanded to 12 members with the addition of the University of Arkansas and the University of South Carolina in 1991. The SEC was the first conference in the NCAA to hold a championship game in football.
The first two SEC Championship football games were held at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, Since 1994, the game has been played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia.
Of the 12 teams in the SEC, only four have not played in the championship game at least once since its inception. Those teams are Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
Contents |
[edit] Results
Rankings are from the AP Poll, winner in bold italics
| Year | Eastern Division | Score | Western Division | Venue | Attendance | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | #12 Florida[1] | 21-28 | #2 Alabama | Legion Field (Birmingham, AL) | 83,091 | CB Antonio Langham, Alabama |
| 1993 | #9 Florida | 28-13 | #16 Alabama[2] | Legion Field | 76,345 | QB Terry Dean, Florida |
| 1994 | #6 Florida | 24-23 | #3 Alabama | Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA) | 74,751 | DT Ellis Johnson, Florida |
| 1995 | #2 Florida | 34-3 | #23 Arkansas | Georgia Dome | 71,325 | QB Danny Wuerffel, Florida |
| 1996 | #4 Florida | 45-30 | #11 Alabama[3] | Georgia Dome | 74,132 | QB Danny Wuerffel, Florida |
| 1997 | #3 Tennessee | 30-29 | #11 Auburn[4] | Georgia Dome | 74,896 | QB Peyton Manning, Tennessee |
| 1998 | #1 Tennessee | 24-14 | #23 Miss. State[5] | Georgia Dome | 74,795 | WR Peerless Price, Tennessee |
| 1999 | #5 Florida | 7-34 | #7 Alabama | Georgia Dome | 71,500 | WR Freddie Milons, Alabama |
| 2000 | #7 Florida | 28-6 | #18 Auburn | Georgia Dome | 73,427 | QB Rex Grossman, Florida |
| 2001 | #2 Tennessee | 20-31 | #21 LSU | Georgia Dome | 74,843 | QB Matt Mauck, LSU |
| 2002 | #4 Georgia | 30-3 | #22 Arkansas[6] | Georgia Dome | 75,835 | QB David Greene, Georgia |
| 2003 | #5 Georgia | 13-34 | #3 LSU | Georgia Dome | 74,913 | RB Justin Vincent, LSU |
| 2004 | #15 Tennessee | 28-38 | #3 Auburn | Georgia Dome | 74,892 | QB Jason Campbell, Auburn |
| 2005 | #13 Georgia | 34-14 | #3 LSU | Georgia Dome | 73,717 | QB D.J. Shockley, Georgia |
| 2006 | #4 Florida | 38-28 | #8 Arkansas[7] | Georgia Dome | 73,374 | WR Percy Harvin, Florida |
[edit] By Team
| Appearances | School | W | L | Pct | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Florida | 6 | 2 | .750 | |
| 5 | Alabama | 2 | 3 | .400 | |
| 4 | Tennessee | 2 | 2 | .500 | |
| 3 | LSU | 2 | 1 | .666 | |
| 3 | Georgia | 2 | 1 | .666 | |
| 3 | Auburn | 1 | 2 | .333 | |
| 3 | Arkansas | 0 | 3 | .000 | |
| 1 | Mississippi St. | 0 | 1 | .000 | |
| 0 | Ole Miss | 0 | 0 | N/A | |
| 0 | South Carolina | 0 | 0 | N/A | |
| 0 | Kentucky | 0 | 0 | N/A | |
| 0 | Vanderbilt | 0 | 0 | N/A |
[edit] Bowl Performance of the Winner of the SEC Championship Game
Seven winners of the SEC Championship game have gone on to play for the national title. Rankings are from the AP Poll.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ #12 Florida (8-3) won a tie-break for the SEC East in 1992 over #8 Georgia (9-2), 26-24.
- ^ #16 Alabama (8-2-1) finished second in the SEC West in 1993 but played in the SEC Championship Game since #4 Auburn (11-0), the first-place finisher in the SEC West, was prohibited from post-season play because of NCAA violations. Alabama was later forced to forfeit its eight victories and one tie during the regular season due when it was found cornerback Antonio Langham had received improper benefits from an agent prior to the season.
- ^ Alabama won the SEC West on a tie-breaker by defeating LSU (9-2) 26-0.
- ^ Auburn won the SEC West on a tie-breaker by defeating LSU (8-3) 31-28.
- ^ #23 Mississippi State (8-3) won a tie-break for the SEC West in 1998 over #11 Arkansas(9-2), 22-21.
- ^ #22 Arkansas (9-3) tied for second in the SEC West in 2002 but played in the SEC Championship Game since #14 Alabama (10-3), the first-place finisher in the SEC West, was prohibited from post-season play because of recruiting violations. Arkansas won a tie-break over #20 Auburn (8-4). and #25 LSU (8-4).
- ^ Although #8 Arkansas (10-2) was the first-place finisher in the SEC West in 2002, they were the second-highest ranked team in the SEC West behind #4 LSU (10-2), which Arkansas had lost to the previous week.
- ^ Since the creation of the Pac-10 in 1978, the Pac-10 Champion has never played the SEC Champion
- ^ first year of the Bowl Alliance, which matched the two highest-ranked teams not in the Big 10 or Pac-10 in a national championship game. The Big 10 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.
- ^ Nebraska shared the 1997 NCAA title with Michigan
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ the Sugar Bowl was the BCS national champoinship game for the 2003 season.
- ^ Auburn finished the season with a 13-0 record, but finished #2 behind the other undefeated team that year, Southern California (13-0)
- ^ Game played at Georgia Dome in Atlanta after damage caused to the Louisiana Superdome by Hurricane Katrina.
- ^ at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona.
[edit] See also
[edit] Other Conference Championship Games
- ACC Championship Game
- Big 12 Championship Game
- WAC Championship Game
- MAC Championship Game
- Conference USA Championship Game
[edit] External links
| Southeastern Conference |
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| Eastern Division: Florida • Georgia • Kentucky • South Carolina • Tennessee • Vanderbilt Western Division: Alabama • Arkansas • Auburn • LSU • Mississippi • Mississippi State |
