I heard that same tired argument back when they were whining about the Southwest Conference breaking up. The SEC is stronger than it has ever been, and that is a fact. I watched your progrma struggle for relevance in the old setup, and now you are complaining because the competition got tougher? Please. Those "regional grudges" you are crying about kept a lot of mediocre teams feeling important. I remember when playing your bunch was a guaranteed win for the real contenders. Now every single Saturday you have to bring your best, because there are no easy weeks. The television money built facilities that kids from my era could only dream of, and it brought the entire sport into living rooms across the country. You are just bitter because your program cannot keep up in this new landscape. The soul of the sport is in winning championships, not clinging to some nostalgic memory of a weaker league. If you want to talk about throwing away history, look at how your own school has treated its traditions. The SEC did not lose its soul, it just left programs like yours behind.