Will the SEC Network Launch More Than Just a Television Network?

At the time of writing this post, the countdown clock on ESPN's homepage sits at 11 hours 27 minutes and 40 seconds until the SEC Network, the 24-hour TV channel ESPN is releasing will hit televisions all across the nation.

Will this channel be the future for all conferences and change the landscape of college athletics?!

Calm down, the first part, no. The SEC Network is not the first conference to start its own 24-hour television sports network.

BTN, or the Big Ten Network, has been going strong since their launch back in August of 2007.  Fox Sports owns the 51% of the network, which is probably why not many people know about it. BTN reaches approximately 52 million homes right now. That's almost 25 million less than what the SEC Network has anticipated. BTN has several self-produced shows, just like the SEC Network plans to have, but will use ESPN talents.

Now back to the second question of will this change the landscape of college athletics. Yes, this going to change the way college athletics operate.

How, you ask? Recruiting.

According to Forbes.com, the SEC is currently the 4th most valuable conference in the nation. The Big Ten is first by the way. That means, the football conference who has had the most success in the last 10 years in college football, received the fourth most amount of dollars to their programs. The ACC and PAC-12 did better. And now the SEC will be getting more money to split between their schools after their 20-year partnership with ESPN. Wouldn't that scare other schools? Do you think Bob Stoops at Oklahoma is excited to hear the conference that has won the most national championships in the BCS era will now get more money to divide amongst their schools to put toward athletics? Do you think Roy Williams at North Carolina is happy to hear John Calipari will get more money at to use coaching Kentucky? Expect more stadium expansions, training facility expansions, new uniforms, and new travel accommodations. Seems like the ACC, Big 12, and PAC-12 need to step their game up.

Now, schools that were attractive to recruits because of winning, will now see some more money towards their athletic program. Or, after all of this autonomy talk, maybe these recruits could see more money in their pockets while on campus.

Food for thought. Enjoy Tim Tebow and the SEC Network!