Having grown up in Alabama, I can tell you that college football, particularly the SEC, was more than just a pastime. The importance of the SEC could not be overstated; even if your team was having a bad year, loyalty to this brand of football in specific was expected. I remember being taught from an early age that even if our team didn’t win, we were supposed to root for the next SEC school.
As the conference so eloquently puts it in their own branding, “It just means more.” However, behind the pageantry, cheering fans and sports dominance lies a complicated reality. The SEC’s attempt to push a product that is uniquely southern affects its college campuses in a multitude of ways: some good and some bad.
It’s important that I clarify that I love going to school in the SEC. My words shouldn’t be taken as a denouncement of everything the conference stands for. Rather, I think it’s important to be honest about the culture that some of these universities have.
The most substantial problem that SEC universities face is their adherence to old, antiquated southern ideals. Although people are no longer protesting integration, remnants of that past lie thick over these campuses. Just a few months ago on Auburn's campus, someone wrote a racial slur outside a dorm. You would think that with the South’s and especially Alabama's history, students would be more cognizant and socially aware. Yet, that still has not happened.
Another event that recently intrigued me was the story of Mary Kate Cornett, a freshman at Ole Miss. Just a few months ago, this young woman was caught up in a social media frenzy after dubious rumors about an alleged sex scandal between her and her boyfriend's father spread on the internet. These rumors about a random college girl in Mississippi even got national airtime on ESPN through the Pat McAfee show.
Although the aforementioned events are very different, I believe they stem from the same problem. The SEC and the South in general have a bias against marginalized groups. This bias can rear its head when students still think that slurs are just a funny joke. It can be seen in the way that student’s treated Mary Kate’s story. Would the rumors about that Ole Miss girl have been so pervasive if she was a guy instead?
However, despite my grievances, I don’t think the SEC is all bad. For example, the pride that all of these schools have inspired is commendable. Even people who didn’t go to college will often have life-long commitments to a university through sports. The sense of community and tradition developed over a common love of a sports team can be beautiful.
Other relationships are also formed from the SEC. Freshman psychology major Susan Grayton Pass says she credits Auburn for her family. When asked about her family, Pass explained that generations going back to her great-grandfather had met their spouses at Auburn.
Pass even explained that a basketball game between Auburn and Ole Miss is what caused her parents to meet. Pass’s grandfather had been an Ole Miss football player and brought her mother to Auburn to watch a game between the Rebels and Tigers. When Pass’s mother was at the game, she became enamored with Auburn’s atmosphere.
Pass told me about her mother, “She said, ‘Whoever wins this basketball game, that's where I'm going to go to school’. And she told her dad that, and Auburn won, and she came to Auburn. And so I always say, like, if Auburn hadn't won that basketball game, then my parents wouldn't have met, and I wouldn't have been here.”
Pass’s story is an example of a common trope at Auburn. On the campus, it’s almost expected that a student will find someone to marry. The idea is even perpetuated by the university as a punishment for stepping on the seal. While college is a great time to date, students should be wary of feeling that marriage is something that should happen rather than something that may.
Whether it’s the chaos of Bama Rush or dominating showcases in just about every sport, the SEC draws a lot of eyes. While the spectacle that is the SEC is often glamorized, it is important to take a more holistic view of it. Though tailgates and Greek life may be fun, we should not gloss over the ways that the SEC, southern culture and our own campus culture often falls short.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
