Mo Johnson is a 1992 graduate of the University of Tennessee and has followed SEC sports pretty much all his life (40 years). Despite a miltary career that took him around the world, he was always able to keep up with sports in the Southeastern Conference and especially the UT Vols. In October 2006, Mo started the web site: secsportsfan.com, to provide unique and comprehensive coverage of SEC sports from the fan perspective. The PAC-10 has long been the dominant conference in the world of college softball.
PAC-10 schools have won the Division I College Softball Championship 7 of the past 10 years and 16 of the past 20. In fact, PAC-10 schools won it all 10 straight years between 1988 and 1997!
Since 1982, either UCLA (11) or Arizona (7) has won the NCAA tournament 18 times. Arizona was the 2006 NCAA Softball Champion and is the top ranked team going into this years' NCAA tournament.
However, college softball is not what it used to be. The SEC only started fielding Division I softball teams 10 years ago, yet, two weeks ago, SEC teams were the top three ranked teams in the nation. The national rankings were:
1. Tennessee Volunteers (53-4)
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (50-6)
3. LSU Tigers (49-10)
Rankings shuffled a bit after LSU won the SEC tournament (and Tennessee and Alabama lost). In any event, it is clear that SEC softball has arrived!
The SEC had seven teams selected for the NCAA tournament this year, which was second only to the PAC-10's eight. It will be interesting to see how the tournament plays out.
The reason the SEC has become a softball power is the same reason it succeeds in most sports. The reason is that SEC schools have committed serious resources to the sport. And by "resources," that means money.
Tennessee, Alabama, LSU (and other SEC schools) have poured millions into new softball facilities, coaches, recruiting and scholarships. The SEC plays to win and it has the money to make sure it wins.
Many of the SEC's top softball coaches and players are transplants from California. This includes Tennessee softball coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly and star pitcher Monica Abbott. Abbott leads the NCAA in career strikeouts, shutouts and wins.
The commitment of SEC schools is particularly impressive because none of the softball programs in the SEC makes money. They are all money losers. It is the profit from SEC football, that provides the money so SEC schools can invest in sports like softball.
Certainly there is real value in having winning athletic programs – even if they don't make money. That winning image translates in many other areas to make each SEC school a better place for students, alumni, and fans.
In the end, of course, it is the fans who are really responsible for the greatness of SEC sports – including softball. Why? It is the fans who contribute money to athletic departments; buy tickets and merchandise; watch the games on TV and radio; and read articles in various media, etc. All of this results in revenue for SEC athletic programs, as well as increased exposure.
The end result is a circular process of better facilities, more scholarships, and better recruits, which results in more wins, more fans, more money, and – round and round we go!