The SEC was established on December 1932, when the 13 members of the Southern Conference located west and south of the Appalachian Mountains left to form their own conference. Ten of the 13 founding members have remained in the conference since its inception. Three schools left the conference before 1966 and six have joined since 1991, bringing the current membership to 16.
Although this article lists both regular-season and tournament champions, the SEC awards its official baseball championship based solely on regular-season record, whether or not the tournament existed at a given time. The tournament, however, does determine the SEC's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.
The method to determine the SEC Champion has varied greatly:[1]
1933-1947: Determined by conference winning percentage.
1948-1950: Division leaders met in best of 5 championship series.
1951: Determined by conference winning percentage.
1952: Division leaders were to meet in best of 3 championship series;[2] Eastern division leader ceded championship series to western division leader.[3]
1953-1976: Division leaders met in best of 3 championship series.
1977-1985: First SEC Tournament. Determined by top 2 teams from each division playing in double elimination tournament.
1986: Determined by top 4 teams overall playing in double elimination tournament.
1987: Determined by top 6 teams overall playing in double elimination tournament.
1988-1991: Determined by conference winning percentage. Tournament played to award NCAA auto-bid.
1992: Determined by conference winning percentage.
1993-1995: Determined by conference and tournament winning percentage. NCAA auto-bid is awarded to winner of divisional tournament that *has highest overall conference winning percentage.
1996-1997: Determined by conference winning percentage. Tournament played with top 3 teams in each division plus 2 at-large teams based on conference winning percentage to award NCAA auto-bid.
1998: Determined as before but with division leaders earning top 2 seeds in tournament.
1999-2012: Determined as before but tournament consisted of top 2 teams in each division plus 4 at-large teams based on conference winning percentage.
Although this article lists both regular-season and tournament champions, the SEC has awarded its official men's basketball championship based solely on regular-season record since the 1950–51 season, whether or not the tournament existed at a given time. The tournament, however, does determine the SEC's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.[12]
When the SEC expanded to 12 schools with the addition of South Carolina and Arkansas for the 1992 season, the conference divided its basketball teams into separate divisions, East and West, just like for football. In June 2011, the SEC voted to eliminate divisions in basketball.[16]
Although the SEC began sponsoring women's basketball competition in the 1979–80 season, it was not fully integrated into the conference until the 1982–83 season, which was the first in which each team played the same number of conference games. Also, although this article lists both regular-season and tournament champions, the SEC has officially awarded its conference title based solely on the regular-season standings since the 1985–86 season. From 1980 to 1985, the official SEC champion was the tournament winner, but the tournament now only determines the recipient of the SEC's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.[17]
Four SEC schools compete in Women's Equestrian: Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas A&M. The first conference championship was contested in 2013.
From 1992 through 2023, divisional champions were crowned. Occasionally, a tie between two or more teams occurred, requiring a tiebreaker. All teams involved in the tiebreaker were considered co-divisional champions, and the winner of the tiebreaker was the division's representative to the championship game. The 2023 season was the last for the divisional format. All divisional champions and co-champions are listed below.
* denotes tie-break winner and subsequent division representative to the SEC championship game. † in 1993 Auburn finished first in the West standings but was ineligible due to NCAA probation and postseason ban. ‡ in 2002 Alabama finished first in the West standings but was ineligible due to NCAA probation and postseason ban.
The Southern Conference was an immediate predecessor to the SEC, with all thirteen charter SEC schools having been members before leaving to form the SEC after the 1932 season.
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was a predecessor to the Southern Conference, with every current and former member of the SEC having been members at some point except Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
Golf
All 16 SEC schools play both men's and women's golf.
In 2017, the SEC began recognizing a regular season champion in addition to the winner of the SEC championship meet. LSU claimed the first regular season title.[19]
The SEC added women's rowing for the 2024–25 school year with four programs—Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas.[20]
Indoor track and field
All current SEC schools participate in both men's and women's indoor track & field except Vanderbilt, which once sponsored the sport for both sexes but now sponsors it only for women.
All 16 schools play women's soccer. While only women's soccer is sponsored by the SEC, Kentucky and South Carolina both have men's soccer teams in the Sun Belt Conference.
^The SEC played a split soccer season in the COVID-affected 2020–21 school year, holding conference competition during the traditional NCAA soccer season in fall 2020 and non-conference games in spring 2021.
^Arkansas won the West Division title outright, but shared the regular-season title with fellow West Division member Texas A&M.
All current SEC schools play men's tennis except for Missouri.
From 1953-1989, the SEC Champion was determined by the accumulation of points in an individual flighted tournament (there was not a separate team tournament champion).[21]
In 1990, a team dual match format was instituted for the conference tournament which provided the SEC tournament champion.[21]
From 1990-98, the SEC Champion was determined by a total aggregate points accumulated at the conclusion of the conference tournament: one full
point was awarded for each regular-season conference win, one-half point for wins in the first two rounds of the conference tournament, one-half point for receiving a first-round bye in the conference tournament and one full point for a win in the conference tournament semifinals and finals.[21]
For the 1999 season, the same points system was in place with a couple of changes: one full point for first-round bye in the conference tournament and one full point for a win in any round of the conference tournament.[21]
In 2000, the SEC changed the determination of its tennis regular season champion to the team with the best winning percentage in conference regular-season dual matches.[21]
The SEC Champion was determined by accumulation of individual points at the SEC Tournament from 1953-89
Last team to win regular season & tournament in same year: Kentucky, 2024
Champions
Year
Regular-season champion(s)
Tournament champion(s)
1938
Georgia Tech
1939
Tulane
1940
LSU
1941
Tulane
1942
Tulane
1943-1945
No Competition Held
1946
Georgia Tech
1947
Tulane
1948
Tulane
1949
Tulane
1950
Florida
1951
Tennessee Tulane
1952
Tulane
1953
Tulane
1954
Tulane
1955
Tulane
1956
Tulane
1957
Tulane
1958
Tulane
1959
Tulane
1960
Georgia Tech
1961
Florida
1962
Tulane
1963
Tulane
1964
Tulane
1965
Mississippi State
1966
Tennessee
1967
Mississippi State
1968
Florida
1969
Florida
1970
Tennessee
1971
Georgia
1972
Georgia
1973
Georgia
1974
Georgia
1975
Florida Georgia
1976
Alabama LSU
1977
Georgia
1978
Georgia
1979
Georgia
1980
Tennessee
1981
Georgia
1982
Georgia
1983
Auburn
1984
Auburn
1985
Georgia LSU
1986
Tennessee
1987
Georgia
1988
Georgia
1989
Georgia
1990
Tennessee
Tennessee
1991
Georgia
Georgia
1992
Kentucky
Kentucky
1993
Georgia Mississippi State
Georgia
1994
Florida
Florida
1995
Georgia
Georgia
1996
Georgia Ole Miss
Mississippi State
1997
Georgia Ole Miss
Ole Miss
1998
LSU
LSU
1999
Georgia LSU
LSU
2000
Florida Tennessee
Florida
2001
Georgia
Georgia
2002
Georgia
Tennessee
2003
Florida
Vanderbilt
2004
Ole Miss
Georgia
2005
Florida Ole Miss
Florida
2006
Georgia
Georgia
2007
Georgia
Georgia
2008
Georgia
Ole Miss
2009
Ole Miss
Ole Miss
2010
Tennessee
Tennessee
2011
Georgia Tennessee
Florida
2012
Kentucky
Georgia
2013
Georgia
Georgia
2014
Georgia
Texas A&M
2015
Georgia Texas A&M
Texas A&M
2016
Georgia
Florida
2017
Georgia Texas A&M
Georgia
2018
Texas A&M
Mississippi State
2019
Florida
Mississippi State
2020
Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021
Florida
Tennessee
2022
Florida
Florida
2023
Georgia
Kentucky
2024
Kentucky
Kentucky
Other division winners
2002 - Ole Miss (West)
2003 - Ole Miss (West)
2004 - Florida (East)
2005 - Florida (East), Ole Miss (West)
2006 - Ole Miss (West)
2007 - Ole Miss (West)
2008 - Ole Miss (West)
2009 - Georgia (East)
2010 - Ole Miss (West)
2011 - Mississippi State (West)
2012 - Mississippi State (West)
2013 - Texas A&M, Ole Miss (West)
Divisional winners discontinued in 2014
Women's tennis
All current SEC schools play women's tennis.
In 2000, the SEC changed the determination of its tennis champions to the team with the best winning percentage in conference regular-season dual matches (11 matches). Before this, a points system was used in which full- or half-points were awarded for wins during the season as well as during the conference tournament.
The SEC Champion was determined by the accumulation of individual points in the SEC Tournament from 1980-81 and 1984-1989. In 1982-1983, the SEC Champion was determined from dual match play in the SEC tournament From 1990-1999, the SEC Champion was determined by accumulated points in dual matches during the regular season and in the SEC Tournament
Last team to win regular season & tournament in same year: Georgia, 2024
15 SEC members, play women's volleyball. Vanderbilt played in the first SEC tournament in 1979, but dropped the sport after that season; it will reinstate women's volleyball in 2025. The SEC does not currently sponsor men's volleyball, and no conference member has a varsity men's team.
The SEC Volleyball Tournament was suspended for three seasons after the 2005 season. It was not renewed, but, with the NCAA on the verge of officially adding beach volleyball (then called "sand volleyball") to its Emerging Sports program, the conference's coaches instead sponsored a Commissioner's Cup tournament for that variation of the sport. The tournaments, which were held in mid-April between 2008–10, were won by Georgia, South Carolina, and LSU respectively.
On March 14, 2023, the SEC announced that the women's volleyball tournament will be reinstated in the near future. At the time, the conference had not decided whether the tournament would resume in 2024 (when Oklahoma and Texas join) or 2025 (when Vanderbilt reinstates women's volleyball).[22]
^"Through the Years: SEC Champions"(PDF). 2012–13 SEC Men's Basketball Media Guide. Southeastern Conference. p. 67. Retrieved May 17, 2013. Since 1951, when the round-robin schedule was introduced, the title has been decided by a winning percentage on the conference schedule.