SEC football fans should get behind trading Vanderbilt for UCF

SEC football would be more fun with UCF in the conference rather than Vanderbilt

With all due respect to the Commodores from Nashville, other than being geographically located in a prime southeastern city, SEC football wasn’t made for Vanderbilt.

Yes, Vandy is one of the charter members of the SEC, forming the conference along with Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, and Tennessee in 1933. But that doesn’t mean they’re meant to stick around.

Eventually, even the founding fathers of a corporation move on, and so it should be for Vanderbilt.

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In terms of football hierarchy, Vanderbilt occupies the bottom rung in the SEC, with zero national championships, zero conference championships, zero division titles, and only seven bowl game invitations as a member of the conference.

Since becoming a member of the SEC in 1933, Vanderbilt has a 351-552-27 overall record (.392 win pct.) and a 143-425-17 record (.259 win pct.) in conference play.

The worst in conference history, and it’s not even close.

Their primary importance in the SEC is for Mississippi State to be able to say “Well, at least we aren’t Vanderbilt”.

If only conferences could agree to trades the way professional teams do, the SEC could put Vandy on the block, and bring in another school who would boost the already shining football image of the conference.

One UCF leaps to mind.

SEC football and UCF – Made for each other

Imagine, the UCF Knights — the team who thinks they won a national championship in 2017 by merely beating one decent Power-5 opponent after waltzing through token opposition in the American Athletic Conference — becoming a member of the SEC.

It would be put-up or shut-up time for the fans in Orlando.

The Knights chants of “We want Bama!” and “We want Georgia!” would finally come to fruition, and UCF athletic director Danny White would finally realize what it actually meant for his team to face quality opponents, week after week.

It would probably be a lot more fun for the SEC as well. While teams wouldn’t get their “Vandy bye” once a year, they would get to have their strength of schedule lifted with UCF in that slot while still figuring on a probable win in many cases (don’t get too excited about this now, Missouri and Arkansas).

And revenge could be had by Alabama, Georgia, and Auburn – the only three teams UCF has ever beaten in their 3-18 record against the SEC.

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It would be better for Vandy, too. Playing in the American, the Commodores would face opponents much more suited to their strength, and would it would give their fans reason to celebrate in the streets of Nashville during the fall more often.

Imagine Memphis or Cincinnati fans breaking out in chants of “We want Vandy!” as the AAC Championship Game approaches each season.

It would be surreal.

And it’s a win-win for everyone, to be honest.

There has to be a way to make this happen. Congressional bill? Presidential executive order? An edict from the Chick-fil-A board of directors? Vote of no confidence by the galactic senate? Can we get Kenny Chesney involved?

Maybe if the SEC sweetened the deal for the American. Some sort of “bag of cash” or “player to be named later” to help ease the pain of losing such a fine football organization as UCF.

How about, Vanderbilt and a 10-year AAC tie-in to the Sugar Bowl (when it’s not a CFB Playoff game) for the undisputed rights to UCF.  Or maybe Vandy, and lifetime passes to Dollywood for all the AAC head coaches and their families (they have to be sick of doing to Disneyworld all the time).

SEC football fans need to get behind this and put some pressure on Greg Sankey, Michael Aresco, and the Walt Disney family to make this happen. For the good of the conference. For the good of college football in the deep south.