I went back to the 1998 to present (BCS & CFP) eras to see which conference should be anointed the best.
The topic of which conference is the best has picked up a lot of steam since the football media days. Everyone has their own opinions from fans, players, coaches, commissioners, and media personnel. I am a SEC homer, telling it like it is. I grew up watching Coach Bear Bryant when I was a little tike and never rooted for another college team.
I’m not even from Alabama, but back in the seventies, Alabama was on television every Saturday, and that is who I cheered for to this day. My daughter graduated from Alabama; where else would she go? We watched the GOAT and Alabama every Saturday, and a father couldn’t be prouder.
I am also a realist, and currently the Big Ten conference has put a stranglehold on football championships in the past three seasons. The Big Ten has dominated the SEC teams during these past three seasons, and we have to tip our hats and take it on the chin.
SEC fans, let’s be real: the SEC dominated during the Saban era, and we mocked the Big Ten and called them the J.V. football league of college football. Why wouldn’t we? The only team outside of the SEC to win a championship was Clemson twice and Ohio State once.
Nick Saban (photo courtesy: USA Today
Before the NIL era, 1998 – 2022, the SEC football teams not only ruled, but they also dominated. SEC teams were stronger, tougher, faster, and coaches were elite. When Saban came to Alabama, the bar was even raised higher. Everyone knows, if the NIL era wasn’t around, Coach Saban would still be coaching, and he’d be going for his 9th or 10th national title, and Alabama would still be ruling the roost, and all other fan bases would be hating!
I don’t know if the NIL era or Coach Saban retiring has made SEC football teams not as tough, not have the dominant attitude, attention to detail, and we’re going to kick your a$$ mentality on Saturdays. Teams didn’t even want to play SEC backups because they knew they couldn’t hang with them. Georgia is the flagship right now for the SEC, with Texas trailing behind; two teams led by Saban disciples. I’m hoping this could be the year for the SEC and we can quiet the Big Ten cheerleaders.
Now tipping my hat and taking it on the chin, the Big Ten has been the dominant football conference over the past three years. If something doesn’t change this upcoming football season, the Big Ten will be winning its fourth national championship in a row, or worse, Notre Dame. I’m just keeping it real, folks.
We can agree to disagree, but the proof is in the pudding.
That all being said, let’s dive into which conference is king. I went back to the 1998 to present (BCS & CFP) eras to see which conference should be anointed the best. Folks, if we are going to state who is the best, let’s look at the entire database during the championship eras. I didn’t just look at football; I also looked at basketball and baseball, the three major men’s sports in college.
In football, the SEC has 15 championships, the ACC has five championships, the Big Ten has five championships, the Big Twelve has two championships, and the Pac-12 has one championship. The SEC has more football championships than all other conferences combined, 15 to 13. In basketball, the SEC has five championships, the Big East has 10 championships, the ACC has eight championships, the Big Twelve has three championships, and the Big Ten has two championships. In baseball, the SEC has 14 championships, the Pac-12 has five championships, other conferences have four championships, the ACC has three championships, the Big Twelve has two championships, and the Big Ten has 0 championships.
The overall total of championships per conference is as follows, 1998-2026:
SEC – 34
ACC – 16
BIG TEN – 15
Big East- 10
Big Twelve – 7
Pac-12 – 6
Other Conferences – 4
So yes, the past three years the Big Ten has ruled football, but when it comes to which conference is “KING,” there is only one: the SEC. And for all the Big Ten fans saying whatever and we rule, come talk to the SEC fanbase when you win 10 more football championships. Then we’ll talk.
