SEC Dominance

Fans from Alabama hate fans from Auburn. The same can be said of those from LSU and Ole Miss. Tennessee actually gets people to volunteer to boo opposing teams. There is no love lose between the Universities of Georgia and Florida. Vanderbilt just wants everybody to get along.

Really, the Southeaster Conference is a very hostile environment.

There is really no saying which school has the best athletic program in the conference, but one thing is for sure. That Southeastern Conference is absolutely, without question the best in the entire country.

The Big 12, ACC, Big 10, Pac 10, and possibly even the Big East might wish to argue this claim, but for what reason? When it comes to competitiveness in each varsity sport, the SEC puts these conferences to shame. Individual schools in other conferences maybe more dominate in individual sports (like North Carolina at women's soccer, Oklahoma State in wrestling, or Colorado in co-ed skiing), but holistically, no other conference is as dominate in as many sports.

The SEC has won a total of 161 national titles since its inception in 1932. It has some of the fiercest and finest rivalries in the nation, and no fan base is more passionate about collegiate athletics.

• Football: There are many schools outside of the south that are talented on the gridiron (especially Southern California and Texas) but those schools also enjoy hosting schedules full of teams from the likes of Washington and Baylor. There are no off-weeks on the SEC conference schedule. That is why the SEC can claim the past three national championships and counting. Up to eight of the twelve teams can claim a national championship in their school's history.
  
• Men's Basketball: Once again, in a sport dominated by powerhouses at UCLA and UNC, the SEC always has several contenders within its ranks. Kentucky is the giant with nine national championships, but the likes of Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas usually have strong programs. Not to mention that Florida, not traditionally a basketball school, won back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007.
  
• Women's Basketball: The biggest name in women's basketball is Pat Summitt and her Lady Volunteers. They have won eight national championships and Summitt is the only head coach at any sport to record 1,000 carrier wins, all in Knoxville. With that said, the Georgia basketball program under the direction of hall-of-famer Andy Landers, is second only to Tennessee in many aspects.
  
• Baseball: Miami is the word in college baseball, but it is the combination of several teams that gives the SEC the upper hand on the diamond. LSU has won five championships to go with another for Georgia. Both those teams were present in last year's College World Series. In fact, the Bulldogs made it to the final series, but fell one game short to Fresno State. And to be fair, Fresno had fate on their side.
  
• Softball: Florida and Alabama are continually ranked in the top five in the country and both made it to the semi-finals in last year's national tournament. Georgia and LSU also have traditionally strong programs.
  
• Gymnastics: Only four teams have ever won a national championship in women's gymnastics, and two of them come from the southeastern conference: Georgia, Alabama, Utah, and UCLA. Georgia and Utah have both won nine each, but UGA can claim the past four consecutive years and have hopes for a fifth.
  
• Track and Field: No team is more dominate in men's track (indoor or outdoor) than the University of Arkansas. All in all, the Razorback have a total of 22 national championships in track. In addition to that, Arkansas holds seven cross country national championships. Louisiana State would be the mirror image for women's track having won 25 titles both indoor and outdoor.
  
• Swimming and Diving: Auburn University would be the resident expert in the pool with seven men's swimming titles and five women's. Georgia and Olympic coach Jack Bauerle add four women's titles.
• Tennis: Georgia owns the most titles in the conference with six, and are the two time defending national champions having won in both in 2006 and 2007. Georgia and their rivals at the University of Florida trade off winning at women's tennis. The Gators have won four to the Bulldogs' two.
• Golf: Consistently among the best teams in the country, LSU and Florida both own four national titles a piece in men's golf, while Georgia has two. Women's golf is another competition between Florida and Georgia, with two and one, respectively.
• Equestrian: Although not officially recognized by the NCAA as a varsity sport, no team outside the SEC has won an equestrian title since 2003. In that time, Auburn, Georgia, and South Carolina have each won two titles.