It's not just the SEC.....

[soonervegas]

I have been thinking and if you look at the BCS era it has largely been dominated by the South in general:

11 of the 13 national titles reside in the following 6 states:
Florida (4)
Alabama (2)
Louisiana (2)
Tennessee (1)
Texas (1)
Oklahoma (1)

The only two states that broke this trend:

California - vacated
Ohio - beat Miami in OT

We are a pass interference call away from 12 of the 12 recognized national titles residing in 6 of the 50 U.S. states.

Moral of the story......football is pretty important down here.

[winout]

Migration.

[Sabanball]

I agree. We may be in different conferences but culturally we're more the same than not--that includes football.:)

[CatfishSooner]

good observation

[Half a Hundred]

Moral of the story......football is pretty important down here.

Moral of the story - areas with high populations of African-Americans tend to have success in high-level athletics.

[EatLeadCommie]

Migration.

Mexican football?

:D

[Sooner74]

Moral of the story - areas with high populations of African-Americans tend to have success in high-level athletics.

Really?

I would bet it has to do with the fact of less schools being in those areas. Or at least schools known for football.

[KantoSooner]

It's also cultural. For whatever reason, colleges in the North and East simply care less about football than schools in the South and West.

I personally chalk this up to rampant nancy-ism in the Northeast; but don't have any peer reviewed data to support this conclusion.

[Oldnslo]

I agree that it's regional and cultural. As a kid in NY, we played hockey in the winter on the frozen neighborhood street. Not so much here.

Lacrosse, anyone?

[Soonermagik]

Spot on. Plus, who wants to go play football in the constant ice boxes up North? Very few college teams have domes up there, which surprises me.

Football in general seems to be a bigger deal in the South.

[KantoSooner]

And Lacrosse should be a much bigger deal down here. Awesome sport. Any sport where you can bash your opponent over the head with a metal pipe should have great crowd appeal across most of SEC/B12 territory.

[SunnySooner]

It's definitely cultural, but it's also location. The kids here in FL can play either flag or tackle football year round, starting at about 6. Now that can lead to burnout, but when you're 18, and you've played 100x more football than some kid from the frozen tundra, there's bound to be an advantage.

[Johnny Utah]

And Lacrosse should be a much bigger deal down here. Awesome sport. Any sport where you can bash your opponent over the head with a metal pipe should have great crowd appeal across most of SEC/B12 territory.

Not so fast my friend ... that would be a 1 - 3 minute personal foul. :)

I'll chime in here since I probably know more about lacrosse than football. The sport is growing in the youth and high school ranks in the bigger metro areas outside of its traditional northeast / mid-atlantic roots. It is a great sport that is fun to both watch and play (especially by more atheletes of more average size). Unfortunately its growth at the Division 1 college level (especially in the mens game) is inhibited by Title IX. However there are players from FL, GA, TX, CA and other "non-traditional" states playing at the higher level.

[Shakadoodoo]

Not so fast my friend ... that would be a 1 - 3 minute personal foul. :)

I'll chime in here since I probably know more about lacrosse than football. The sport is growing in the youth and high school ranks in the bigger metro areas outside of its traditional northeast / mid-atlantic roots. It is a great sport that is fun to both watch and play (especially by more atheletes of more average size). Unfortunately its growth at the Division 1 college level (especially in the mens game) is inhibited by Title IX. However there are players from FL, GA, TX, CA and other "non-traditional" states playing at the higher level.

Isn't lacrosse a game originated by the Native Americans? It should be a big deal in this region for that reason alone!

[Shakadoodoo]

Moral of the story - areas with high populations of African-Americans tend to have success in high-level athletics.

That's funny. I would love to agree with that since I am African American but there are more high level sports than Football and Basketball. I think it has much more to do with exposure, if you are insinuating that Blacks are better athletes than others.

[Johnny Utah]

Isn't lacrosse a game originated by the Native Americans? It should be a big deal in this region for that reason alone!

Most definitely! What is takes is some transplants starting up programs at the youth and high school levels. Once it catches on with the atheletes it will grow. Unlike football, which can be a grind in practice, lacrosse is always fun!

[prrriiide]

A good friend's kid graduated from high school here in Knoxville last year and is now attending Mercer U in Macon, GA on a lacrosse scholly.

[Football Jim]

I know I am splitting hairs but if you want to be logical, USC is a southern school. I don't know why they cease to be southern simply because they are in the west. To carry the logic you would have to consider Florida and Georgia eastern schools instead of southern. This has always bugged me. I know that we are talking traditional civil war south but there were minor battles in Arizona, New Mexico and California but for some reason they don't count as southern........ so is Montana Oregon and Washington not northern?...

Oh well.....getting back to football tOSU is the last team located in the north that has been consistent. There has been a general state of decay in the quality of coaches and players in the northern regions, which is odd since most northern teams recruit heavily in the south.

[texaspokieokie]

well, they do have "southern" in their name. can't be "western" CA, san fran is much further west. even reno is further west.

could be called "south central" cause they're in south central LA.

it's beyond me.

[LRoss]

I agree with the OP and think it's a good point.

Fwiw, it's not that football isn't important in other areas. I'm in New England and football is EXTREMELY important -- just not college football (or college athletics in general). Pro stuff just gets more love here, for whatever reason. I moved here from Louisville KY, for instance, where it was the exact opposite.

Also, it should be noted that kids growing up in cold climates still play football outside. We did it when I was growing up in SD (yeah, I've moved a lot), they do it here in NH, you just put on clothes and deal with it. A part of it might be that MN and New England "lose" a lot of athletes to hockey, which probably doesn't happen as much in FL, AL, OK, etc.

Just my thoughts.

[jkjsooner]

The funny thing is that there were a lot of national champions or contenders from cold weather schools in the early '90s. Notre Dame, Washington, Michigan, Colorado, Penn State, Ohio State and Nebraska were all strong contenders. The only consistent contender from the southern states was Miami (until Florida became a consistent contender).

[romanvandal]

Don't forget Florida state

[Jason Alexander]

I know I am splitting hairs but if you want to be logical, USC is a southern school. I don't know why they cease to be southern simply because they are in the west. To carry the logic you would have to consider Florida and Georgia eastern schools instead of southern. This has always bugged me. I know that we are talking traditional civil war south but there were minor battles in Arizona, New Mexico and California but for some reason they don't count as southern........ so is Montana Oregon and Washington not northern?...

Oh well.....getting back to football tOSU is the last team located in the north that has been consistent. There has been a general state of decay in the quality of coaches and players in the northern regions, which is odd since most northern teams recruit heavily in the south.
Well of course not. Arizona and New Mexico were not states yet but they were Union controlled. And California wasn't a slave state.

[1890MilesToNorman]

I agree with the OP and think it's a good point.

Fwiw, it's not that football isn't important in other areas. I'm in New England and football is EXTREMELY important -- just not college football (or college athletics in general). Pro stuff just gets more love here, for whatever reason. I m

In New England it's very hard to find a college football fan, It's Pro or nothing?? I've tried for years to recruit some Sooner fans but they only care about the Patriots. Dumbasses if you ask me.

[Jason Alexander]

In New England it's very hard to find a college football fan, It's Pro or nothing?? I've tried for years to recruit some Sooner fans but they only care about the Patriots. Dumbasses if you ask me.
Even after reminding them of Chuck Fairbanks?

[jkjsooner]

Don't forget Florida state

Well, that was a big ommission on my part...