Synopsis
How the SEC Became Goliath covers the Southeastern Conference and how the league became dominant in college football, winning six straight national championships. Size matters. That’s why the SEC is Goliath, because the Southeastern Conference, top to bottom, has better coaches, better stadiums, better bank accounts, and better weather, but the real difference maker is the bigger and better players.
For six straight years the SEC has walked off with the big crystal prize and will not give it back. The talk of “big boy football” grinds on the Buckeyes, Sooners, Longhorns, and Ducks. All they can come back with is “Wait until next year.” Then next year comes and the SEC tribe is chanting in the closing minutes of the National Championship Game, “SEC, SEC, SEC!”
The national championship trophy has been in the South for so long it has sunburn. That is why college football is thick with the acrimony: SEC vs. Everyone Else. The dominance of the SEC has a lot more to do with the South’s culture than just the rock-’em, sock-’em of football played one day a week. The South lost the Civil War, and sociologists will tell you that there is still a regional angst, an “us against them” mentality, a spirit of “those damn Yankees.” It is not just about championships. The SEC is about culture and competitiveness. . . . It is about players.
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How the SEC Became Goliath provides an inside look at college football’s most dominant conference. Four different schools in the SEC have won the last six championship titles:
Florida vs. Ohio State in 2006
January 8, 2007 • The Zook-Meyer Gators embarrass the Big Ten.
Florida 41 Ohio State 14
LSU vs. Ohio State in 2007
January 7, 2008 • Unbeaten in regulation, the Tigers are good . . . and lucky.
LSU 38 Ohio State 24
Florida vs. Oklahoma in 2008
January 8, 2009 • One of the best teams in history, these Gators are all Meyer’s.
Florida 24 Oklahoma 14
Alabama vs. Texas in 2009
January 7, 2010 • The Tide make it four in a row for the SEC.
Alabama 37 Texas 21
Auburn vs. Oregon in 2010
January 10, 2011 • Cam Newton and Auburn cap a perfect season.
Auburn 22 Oregon 19
Alabama vs. LSU in 2011
January 9, 2012 • Saban wins his third title and the SEC makes it six in a row.
Alabama 21 LSU 0
Review
"Ray Glier has researched deeply and gotten behind the scenes to chronicle how the nation's best conference
got that way."--Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports
"At a time when the SEC is flexing its muscles and racking up national championships in college football, Ray Glier expertly explains why the SEC and its football coaches have tormented the rest of college football. Whether you're a fan of new SEC member Texas A&M or a longtime follower of the Crimson Tide, you'll be fascinated by How the SEC Became Goliath: The Making of College Football's Most Dominant Conference." --Jesus Ortiz, Houston Chronicle Sportswriter
"As a former player in the Big East, I can tell you that conference envy is very real. You won't hear anyone saying they wish they had the exposure of Mountain West, or a chance to play in front of "those legendary Big Sky fans." The SEC is College Football and How the SEC Became Goliath diagnosis and explains the lineage, pedigree, and insanity of it all."--Rob Lunn, "Thoughts from a Fat White Guy" Sports Blog
"Ray Glier vividly shows why SEC is the most dominant conference in college football. There is no secret formula for success in SEC, and Glier reveals the inner workings of the most successful programs in the nation."--Bob D'Angelo, The Tampa Tribune
"Ray Glier's, How the SEC Became Goliath, is not a love-letter to a conference used to stomping on hearts and shattering national dreams of a level playing field. And that's exactly what makes it refreshing, like a cool drink from a red solo cup on a warm Saturday afternoon. It's more of a re-examining of the SEC's brash and ruthless culture, a region's love affair with football, and why the conference doesn't buy talent, it simply recognizes it better than anyone else, before grooming it within very complex and well thought out systems. At 241 pages, Goliath, may look long, but it's an easy read, backed smartly with anecdotes, history, and quality research. While it jumps around quite a bit, it reaffirms its message throughout: The SEC is bigger and faster than everyone else and at the end of the day, that's the bottom line for why it can't be stopped."--Scott Jacobs, Juiced Sports
"Ray Glier does a fantastic job of capturing the evolution and rise of the Southeastern Conference and gives his readers an up-close look at how the league and its teams came to dominate college football. From Alabama to Florida to LSU and everywhere in between, Glier gives readers an intimate look at college football in the South, where the sport always seems to matter more than anywhere else."--Mark Schlabach, ESPN
"Read the book, bathe in the anecdotes, and soak up the knowledge. If you love the SEC -- heck, even if you hate it -- let Ray Glier take you on a ride through the most popular, powerful entity this side of the NFL. From Roll Tide to Hotty Toddy and all championship points between, a must read for college football fans."--Matt Hayes, The Sporting News
"SEC football might be the most unique ecosystem in sports. In his fine book, Glier carefully examines the food chain and explains exactly how the eat-or-be-eaten world of SEC football works."--Andy Staples, Sports Illustrated
"There hasn't been a bigger story in college football the last six seasons that the thunderous success of the Southeastern Conference. And there isn't anybody better equipped to explain why the SEC has delivered that Ray Glier. He not only knows the league and all its important personalities, he's enabled everybody else to know them, too, by writing this wonderful book."--Rick Bozich WDRB.com, Louisville
"Ray Has his Finger on the Pulse Of SEC Football. (The) Best Book about the Conference I have read in My 30+ Years of Covering College and NFL Football."--Dr. Bill Chachkes, Executive Editor at Football Reporters Online, Featured Insider @
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