THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE was created in December 1932 when 13 schools west of the Appalachians split from the Southern Conference in search of their own athletic identity. About 12 years later, Stephen Orr Spurrier was born in Miami Beach, Fla., and his father, Presbyterian minister Graham Spurrier, moved the family to the western edge of those mountains, hopping from town to town on a quest to save souls. The reverend's little boy was baptized in the waters of the SEC.
"I remember seeing those head coaches all around the conference and thinking, man, I'll never be one of those old guys telling stories about how it used to be," says Spurrier, who at 67 is entering his 23rd season as an FBS head coach. "I guess to some people I am, even if I don't feel like I am. But yes, I have seen some things."
The Head Ball Coach and the SEC have grown up together, sometimes hand-in-hand, other times toe-to-toe. But no one has a better perspective on the league's rise from sleepy Southern athletic union to the most powerful force in college sports. Here's what that emergence has looked like from behind a face mask and beneath the visor, a commentary compiled from multiple conversations with the South Carolina Gamecocks' head coach. (more)
"I remember seeing those head coaches all around the conference and thinking, man, I'll never be one of those old guys telling stories about how it used to be," says Spurrier, who at 67 is entering his 23rd season as an FBS head coach. "I guess to some people I am, even if I don't feel like I am. But yes, I have seen some things."
The Head Ball Coach and the SEC have grown up together, sometimes hand-in-hand, other times toe-to-toe. But no one has a better perspective on the league's rise from sleepy Southern athletic union to the most powerful force in college sports. Here's what that emergence has looked like from behind a face mask and beneath the visor, a commentary compiled from multiple conversations with the South Carolina Gamecocks' head coach. (more)
Last edited by a moderator:
