In certain outposts throughout the South, it’s pronounced “progrum,” not program.
However you say it, the SEC footprint houses some of the most celebrated and iconic college football programs in all the land, complete with rabid fanbases that breathe college football all year. Games are played in towering cathedrals where the crowds partake in what’s almost a religious experience on fall Saturdays.
When evaluating the SEC’s programs, recent results should be considered, but rankings also should reflect historical success, traditions, blue-blood status and fan support.
Here’s how I rank the SEC’s programs, top to bottom:
Alabama football is more than a program, and it’s bigger than an international brand. It’s a way of life. The Script A represents tradition and excellence. Alabama fans are plugged in year-round to their favorite sport, and expectations rarely dip. Coaches who thrive in T-Town are immortalized in bronze. The GOAT conversation runs through Alabama. Is it Nick Saban or Bear Bryant? Either way, it’s an Alabama coach.
2. Oklahoma
The crimson and cream have blue blood. Among SEC schools, Oklahoma trails only Alabama for all-time winning percentage. Double-digit win seasons remain the standard, although the 2000 Sooners remain OU’s last national champion. Oklahoma ruled the 1950s under Bud Wilkinson, then ran back their dominance with Barry Switzer’s wishbone in the 1970s and 80s. Seven Heisman winners point to the program’s star power.
3. Texas
Texas’ deep war chest suits the NIL era, but don’t mistake the Longhorns for the nouveau riche. They’re a traditional power that emerged from an inexcusable, prolonged slumber in between Mack Brown and Steve Sarkisian. Texas enjoyed its heyday in the Southwest Conference under Darrell Royal, but the Longhorns also showed their horns during the Brown era. They belong among the heavy hitters.
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The Bulldogs don’t crack the list of blue bloods, but Kirby Smart made them look like one. Georgia has seized a place of persistent power that was long considered possible, because of the school’s location within fertile recruiting terrain. Smart flawlessly implemented Saban’s recruit-and-develop blueprint. We’re witnessing Georgia’s glory days, decades after Herschel Walker and Vince Dooley supplied the previous peak in the early 1980s.
5. LSU
LSU is the only program to have three coaches win a national championship in this millennium. Lane Kiffin could become the fourth. Money poured in to fund his roster. LSU’s standards are such that Brian Kelly got fired after winning 71% of his games. In-state talent gravitates to LSU, but the Tigers also built a national brand, and a night game at Tiger Stadium is a college football mecca.
6. Tennessee
Few states can match Tennessee’s unrelenting vigor for college football. Gen. Robert Neyland put the Vols on the map and got his name on the stadium. Johnny Majors earned a place of adoration. Phillip Fulmer’s Vols flourished in the 1990s. Since Fulmer, Tennessee’s ravenous fans infrequently had a chance to say, “It feels like ’98.” For too long, it felt more like dysfunction, but Tennessee recaptured respectability under Josh Heupel.
Few individuals mean more to a program than what Steve Spurrier means to Florida. He revolutionized the Gators from an also-ran into one of the premier programs of the 1990s. The Head Ball Coach branded The Swamp and gave the Gators an identity. They became SEC championship game regulars. Urban Meyer injected more glory with two titles. Florida lacks the consistency and history of some higher-ranked programs, but its peaks are just as lofty.
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These are dark days for Auburn. The Tigers endured five consecutive losing seasons, their bleakest period since the late 1940s. Auburn’s loyal fan base deserves better. Recent woes aside, this accomplished program achieved undefeated seasons under three coaches since the 1990s. From Pat Sullivan to Bo Jackson to Cam Newton, Auburn produced decorated stars. Now, it just needs to pull out of this funk.
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Trivia question: When did Texas A&M last win a national championship? Answer: 1939. The Aggies possess the financial resources, fan support and recruiting location to be top shelf, but greatness stubbornly eludes them. R.C. Slocum’s Aggies ruled the Southwest Conference in the early 1990s. Is it time for a fresh set of glory days? Mike Elko’s early returns suggest it’s safe for the Aggies to dream of ascending to their potential.
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10. Mississippi
Those old enough to witness Johnny Vaught remember Ole Miss as a powerhouse. Those who watched Archie Manning remember the Rebels with a superstar. Then, Kiffin and Trinidad Chambliss made it so everyone can remember Ole Miss as a playoff team with a premier quarterback. Kiffin treated the Rebels like they were small by leaving for LSU, but not before spawning an uprising that showed the school’s potential in the NIL era.
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Arkansas piled up Southwest Conference hardware under Frank Broyles, along with an undefeated season. The conference crowns ceased after Arkansas left in 1991 for the SEC, where there’s been more famine than feast for the Hogs. Even in the SEC, the Razorbacks enjoyed a few highlight seasons, but those uprisings are fading into the rearview mirror. The Hogs need another Darren McFadden.
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The Tigers tout seven seasons of double-digit-wins in the past 20 years. They transitioned to the SEC better than many expected. Gary Pinkel became the best thing to happen to Mizzou since Dan Devine. Eliah Drinkwitz has been a gift, too. Anyone who’s a millennial or older can remember the program’s highlight moments, even if they never resulted in a Big 12 or SEC title.
13. Mississippi State
Dan Mullen and Mike Leach did it well for Mississippi State, but Starkville remains one of the toughest SEC outposts to win big or to sustain success. Jackie Sherrill’s 74 wins are the most for any Mississippi State coach. He needed 13 seasons to reach that number. You can’t take the cowbells away from Mississippi State, nor its 15-12 record in bowl games.
14. South Carolina
Spurrier’s successful 11-year run at South Carolina ranks among the best program-building feats in modern history. He won 11 games three seasons in a row, and his teams finished ranked in the top 10 each year. The Gamecocks never won 11 games before Spurrier, and they’ve never hit double digits since he left. Aside from Spurrier’s tenure, the peaks are few and far between.
A program that employed Bear Bryant (and finished 11-1 under the Bear in 1950) can’t rank last on this list, so here we arrive at Kentucky. What can we say about the Wildcats? Well, they own a winning record against Vanderbilt, and they occasionally aren’t as bad as you’d expect a basketball school to be. Mark Stoops got them to a respectable level, but was unable to keep things afloat.
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16. Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt’s 10 wins last year register as its single-season record, so you could say the program’s never looked better. The less said, the better, about much of Vanderbilt’s history — unless you want to discuss the 1904 season. That year, Vanderbilt went 9-0 and outscored its competition 474-4. Glory days.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
