As talks rage on regarding the future of SEC football schedules, it looks like the eastern and western most teams in the new 14-team conference could be paired up as permanent cross-division opponents. The ABC TV affiliate for Columbia, South Carolina caught up with South Carolina A.D. Harris Pastides at the SEC Womens Basketball Tournament in Nashville over the weekend, and he had some interesting comments about the future pairings of cross-division rivalries:
"Arkansas is a long way off. Arkansas and Missouri have kind of buddied up because they are neighboring states and wanted to play each other," Pastides said. "That left the opportunity for us to think about Texas A&M, I'd love to know what the fans think."
"If all goes the way I think it will, we'll probably be swapping Arkansas for Texas A&M in the fall," said Pastides.
Since the SEC expanded in 1992 with addition of Arkansas and Carolina, the two teams have been awkwardly paired as cross-division rivals. While Missouri certainly makes more sense for the Hogs in terms of geography (as much as having Mizzou in the Eastern Division can be considered sensical), A&M and the Gamecocks are about as far-flung a "rivalry" as the SEC could produce.
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