In 1991, when the Southeastern Conference announced its intentions to expand from 10 to 12 and begin a conference football championship game, there were plenty of naysayers.
"I don't think there's any way for a team in the SEC to come out as a national champion," said one college coach at the time.
Added another coach, "It might be a while before the SEC wins another national championship. People are going to have some bloody noses coming out of the SEC."
While no one will argue that the SEC is one of the toughest, if not the toughest, college football conference in the nation, the league's championship game has not stopped the league from winning national championships.
Three teams have come from the SEC Championship Game and have concluded their seasons by winning the national championship. Will there be a fourth this year? The 10th SEC title tilt will be on Dec. 8 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. ET and will be televised live nationally by CBS Sports.
In fact, in the game's inaugural contest, Alabama defeated Florida, 28-21, and then went on to claim the SEC's 12th national championship with a 34-13 win over Miami (Fla.) in the Sugar Bowl.
In one of the most exciting SEC Championship Games, the Tide won the contest on a 27-yard interception return by Antonio Langham with 3:16 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Florida added another national championship for the SEC in 1996. Things looked bleak for the Gators in the national title hunt after claiming the SEC Eastern Division title, but losing a nail-biter in the final regular season game to Florida State, 24-21.
The fourth-ranked Gators then defeated Alabama, 45-30, in the SEC Championship Game and earned a rematch with the Seminoles in the Sugar Bowl. Florida knocked off Florida State, 52-20, and earned its first football national title.
The third SEC team to win a national championship since the inception of the conference championship game was Tennessee, which went through the season undefeated in 1998. The Vols came from behind in the fourth quarter to defeat Mississippi State, 24-14. Tennessee went on to defeat Florida State, 23-16, in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and win its first national championship since 1951.
During the first nine games, the SEC Championship Game has had record television ratings, capacity crowds, exciting moments and breathtaking performances. The average television audience rating for the previous nine SEC title games has been 7.9 with a total viewership of 240.5 million people.
The 1994 game, which saw Florida hold off Alabama, 24-23, was seen by 31.2 million viewers and is the most-watched SEC Championship Game to date.
The first two SEC Championship Games were held at Legion Field in Birmingham. While the inaugural game in 1992 catapulted Alabama to a national championship, the Gators got revenge the following year, knocking off the Crimson Tide, 28-13.
Arkansas became the first team other than Alabama and Florida to play in the SEC Championship Game, when the Razorbacks participated in 1995. The Hogs got on the scoreboard first against the Gators in that game, but Florida prevailed, 34-3.
Tennessee and Auburn became the next two teams to play in the game when the two met in the 1997 tilt. Game MVP Peyton Manning's 73-yard TD pass to Marcus Nash in the fourth quarter provided the winning score, 30-29.
Alabama and Florida returned to the game in 1999 with the Crimson Tide surprising the Gators, 34-7, with a 19-0 outburst in the final quarter.
Last season, Florida defeated Auburn, 28-6, behind four TD passes from game MVP Rex Grossman.
Seven of the nine games have been sellouts, including the last five contests. Going into this year's contest, the SEC announced a sellout of its game in early summer and a waiting list of more than 900 customers exist for future games.
