ESPN announced the 2015 SEC spring game schedule on Thursday. You are aware of the business relationship between the SEC and ESPN, aren’t you? Anyway, all 11 remainingSEC spring games (Kentucky and Texas A&M will not hold spring games, Vanderbilt’s was on Saturday) will be shown on SEC Network properties but, interestingly enough, none of them will actually be on SEC Network properties.
Instead, SEC Network+ - the digital home of SECN, basically the network’s version of ESPN3 - will show most games while SEC Network Alternate - the network’s overflow channel - will provide whip around coverage. All games will be shown on replay on SEC Network throughout the following week.
Here’s the schedule:
April 11
SEC Spring Whip Around (noon-4 p.m. ET) - SEC Network Alternate
South Carolina (noon ET) - SEC Network+
Florida (12:30 p.m. ET) - SEC Network+
Ole Miss (1 p.m. ET) - SEC Network+
Georgia (2 p.m. ET) - SEC Network+
April 18
Mississippi State (noon ET) - SEC Network Alternate/SEC Network+
SEC Spring Whip Around (2-5 p.m. ET) - SEC Network Alternate
Auburn (2 p.m. ET) - SEC Network+
LSU (2 p.m. ET) - SEC Network+
Alabama (3 p.m. ET) - SEC Network+
Missouri (5 p.m. ET) - SEC Network Alternate/SEC Network+
April 25
Arkansas (2 p.m. ET) - SEC Network Alternate/SEC Network+
Tennessee (4 p.m. ET) - SEC Network Alternate/SEC Network+
Ironically, the creation of the SEC’s own conference-specific network has actually decreased the coverage of SEC spring games. In the past Alabama, Auburn, Florida and a few others regularly had their spring games shown on ESPN The Mothership or ESPNU. Now they’ll all be on the digital step-brother of a niche network.
Whatever. I’m sure the paychecks will help the SEC get over it.