2005 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament March 10-13 * Georgia Dome * Atlanta, Ga.
The SEC Men's Basketball Tournament was first held at the Dome in 1995, establishing records in total attendance (250,031), single-game and championship game attendance (30,057). The 2005 event marks the 10th time Atlanta has hosted the tournament (1933, 1934, 1987, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004).
The winner of the 11-game tournament receives the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The tournament seeds, conference championship and division titles are determined by the 16-game conference schedule during the regular season. Teams are seeded by their divisional finish and features Eastern Division-Western Division matchups in every game should the higher seed win each contest.
Atlanta served as host of the inaugural SEC Tournament played following the 1932-33 season and did so again after the 1933-34 season. The event was held every year through 1952, with the exception of 1935. After a 26-year layoff (1953-78), the tournament was renewed in 1979. The 2005 tournament will be the 46th in league history and the 27th since the renewal.
The SEC has shown extraordinary balance in the tournament, evidenced by the fact that a different school won the first seven titles after the renewal. The event has helped set the stage for SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament, as 20 of the last 25 tournament champions have advanced to at least the Sweet 16 with three of the last nine going on to win the national championship. Since the renewal in 1979, the SEC Tournament Champion has failed to win at least one NCAA Tournament game only three times.
Kentucky leads the league with 25 SEC Tournament titles. Alabama is second with six, while Tennessee ranks third with four, and Mississippi State has two championship trophies. Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and former league member Georgia Tech have each won one SEC Tournament championship.
2005 SEC TOURNAMENT March 10-13 * Georgia Dome * Atlanta, Ga.
Future SEC Tournament Dates & Sites 2006 - March 9-12 Nashville, Tenn. (Gaylord Entertainment Center) 2007 - March 8-11 Atlanta, Ga. (Georgia Dome) 2008 - March 13-16 Atlanta, Ga. (Georgia Dome) 2009 - March 12-15 Tampa, Fla. (St. Petersburg Times Forum) 2010 - March 11-14 Nashville, Tenn. (Gaylord Entertainment Center) 2011 - March 10-13 Atlanta, Ga. (Georgia Dome) 2012 - March 11-14 New Orleans, La. (New Orleans Arena)