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Why Alabama Has an Easy Schedule in 2012 and 2013?

Why Alabama Has an Easy Schedule in 2012 and 2013?
« on: December 03, 2012, 06:22:55 PM »
Can't do this for them forever, but I guess you can help out their dynasty for two years.

Alabama was originally scheduled to play Georgia in 2012.  Swapped them out for Missouri.

They were also supposed to play Georgia in 2013.  Swapped them out for Kentucky. 

Also, their 2013 schedule features this tough slate:

Virginia Tech in Atlanta (respectable)
Possible Bye
@Texas A&M
Possible Bye
Ole Miss
Georgia State
@Kentucky
Arkansas
Tennessee
Open Date
LSU
@Miss State
Chattanooga
@Auburn

The only tough stretch is LSU then @Miss State. 

Arkansas, Tennessee are both at home, back to back, with two cupcakes prior to them and an open date afterwards. 

Texas A&M is early with a possible bye beforehand. 

They never play more than two tough games in a row.  They have (maybe) two difficult road games unless Virginia Tech comes around.  I do give them credit for Virginia Tech. 

But here's the issue:
This guy is in charge of SEC football schedules.
Quote

Mark Womack joined the Southeastern Conference staff in 1978 upon graduation from the University of Alabama and has served the conference in numerous capacities ranging from Assistant Public Relations Director to Acting Commissioner.

His current duties include negotiating and monitoring television contracts for football, basketball and other conference sports; liaison between post-season bowls and member institutions (assisted in the development of the Bowl Championship Series); oversee the conference budget including the receipt and distribution of conference funds to member institutions; liaison with conference athletics directors; oversee operation of the SEC Football Championship Game and the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments and conference scheduling for football and basketball.

Womack has served on the NCAA Championship/Competition Cabinet and is the former chairman of the NCAA Division 1 Football Bowl Licensing Subcommittee and is a member of the NCAA Football Issues Committee. He is a member of the Board of Directors of NCAA Football and chairs the Budget and Finance Committee of NCAA Football.

Womack began his duties with the SEC as Assistant Public Relations Director with responsibility for publicizing all conference sports. In 1979 Womack was promoted to Assistant to the Commissioner for Information and Administration, continuing his media responsibilities as well as working in areas of eligibility and financial aid for sprig sports and office-wide administrative duties.

In 1981, Commissioner Boyd McWhorter named Womack Assistant Commissioner with responsibility for conference championships, meetings and office administration. In 1988, Womack served two months as Acting Commissioner for the SEC when Commissioner Harvey Schiller accepted the job of Executive Director of the United States Olympic Committee before deciding to return to the SEC. Upon his return he promoted Womack to Associate Commissioner. Womack again served the Conference as Acting Commissioner for four months during 1989-90 before Roy Kramer was hired as Commissioner in 1990.

Kramer promoted Womack to Executive Associate Commissioner upon his arrival.

While at Alabama, Womack worked in the athletic department’s sports information office for two years before receiving his degree in Communications with a major in Public Relations and a minor in Promotional Management. Womack grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and attended Tuscaloosa High school where he was a three-year starter at quarterback, leading his team to the semifinals of the state championship his senior year.

Womack is married to the former Stephanie Keller and they are the parents of a nine-year old son, John David.

The least penalized team in the country (Steve Shaw, head of SEC officiating is also an Alabama graduate) with one of the easiest schedules in the conference two years in a row. 

Oh, and I heard Finebaum say that when he has his weekly lunch with Mike Slive (who lives and works about 60 miles away from Tuscaloosa), he's going to ask him about Quinton Dial's possible suspension. 
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The Guy That Knows Nothing of Hyperbole

RWS

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Re: Why Alabama Has an Easy Schedule in 2012 and 2013?
« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2012, 06:56:20 PM »
Auburn plays MSU, LSU, BYE, Ole Miss, Western Carolina, aTm, Florida Atlantic, Arkansas, UT, UGA. 3 tough games in a row. That is assuming that Arky (4-8) and UT (5-7) are any good next season while breaking in new head coaches.

Are you telling me that 1 game is the difference between total bias, and an extremely difficult schedule?
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Re: Why Alabama Has an Easy Schedule in 2012 and 2013?
« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2012, 08:39:16 PM »

Are you telling me that 1 game is the difference between total bias, and an extremely difficult schedule?

Ummmm, yeah. Duh.
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Re: Why Alabama Has an Easy Schedule in 2012 and 2013?
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2012, 08:40:15 PM »
So, are you saying they finish the regular season with two cupcakes?
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Re: Why Alabama Has an Easy Schedule in 2012 and 2013?
« Reply #4 on: December 03, 2012, 09:11:06 PM »
Auburn plays MSU, LSU, BYE, Ole Miss, Western Carolina, aTm, Florida Atlantic, Arkansas, UT, UGA. 3 tough games in a row. That is assuming that Arky (4-8) and UT (5-7) are any good next season while breaking in new head coaches.

Are you telling me that 1 game is the difference between total bias, and an extremely difficult schedule?

You'd have a point if the guy in charge of SEC scheduling decided to take Tennessee off of Auburn's schedule next year and replace them with Kentucky. 
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Re: Why Alabama Has an Easy Schedule in 2012 and 2013?
« Reply #5 on: December 03, 2012, 09:23:38 PM »
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Re: Why Alabama Has an Easy Schedule in 2012 and 2013?
« Reply #6 on: December 03, 2012, 09:28:40 PM »
You'd have a point if the guy in charge of SEC scheduling decided to take Tennessee off of Auburn's schedule next year and replace them with Kentucky.
So, the team that makes the difference between blatant favoritism and a totally unfair schedule is UT.  5-7 UT.  Only SEC win was over Kentucky, UT.  Replacing their head coach and coordinators UT.  Won a nailbiter against Troy, UT. 

Wow.   
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Re: Why Alabama Has an Easy Schedule in 2012 and 2013?
« Reply #7 on: December 03, 2012, 09:42:15 PM »
So, the team that makes the difference between blatant favoritism and a totally unfair schedule is UT.  5-7 UT.  Only SEC win was over Kentucky, UT.  Replacing their head coach and coordinators UT.  Won a nailbiter against Troy, UT. 

Wow.   

You miss the point.

Every SEC fan besides Alabama fans complain of how Alabama games are officiated and then the statistics show that Alabama does indeed receive less penalties than any other SEC football team.  The head of SEC officials is Steve Shaw, an Alabama graduate.

Nearly every SEC fan questions why Alabama received such a favorable schedule in 2012 and 2013 and why Georgia had to be taken off of Alabama's schedule in place of Kentucky.  The head of SEC scheduling is an Alabama graduate.

If you don't see why people see this as an unfair advantage and a conflict of interests with the people in charge, I can't help you. 
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Re: Why Alabama Has an Easy Schedule in 2012 and 2013?
« Reply #8 on: December 03, 2012, 10:55:56 PM »
You miss the point.

Every SEC fan besides Alabama fans complain of how Alabama games are officiated and then the statistics show that Alabama does indeed receive less penalties than any other SEC football team.  The head of SEC officials is Steve Shaw, an Alabama graduate.
And that argument loses some steam when I show you the statistic that says there are 8 other teams in the SEC whose opponents are flagged more than Alabama's opponents.  It loses a little more when you see that in the majority of their SEC games, Alabama is flagged as much or more than their opponent.  In the games where Alabama is flagged less, the opponent is nearly dead on their penalties per game average.

Quote
Nearly every SEC fan questions why Alabama received such a favorable schedule in 2012 and 2013 and why Georgia had to be taken off of Alabama's schedule in place of Kentucky.  The head of SEC scheduling is an Alabama graduate.
http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com/NEWS/tabid/473/Article/238034/sec-football-scheduling-qa-mark-womack.aspx

Quote
SEC Digital Network: Who was involved in putting together the 2013 SEC conference football schedule and what additional groups had input?

Mark Womack: “It was a cooperative effort from all of our athletic directors to take the schedule and try to work through it, along with Larry Templeton and Mark Whitworth in our office. We use a scheduling group outside the office from a computer standpoint of trying to generate some things for us. At the end of the day, the cooperation of each athletic director in trying to make this work is vitally important.”

SEC Digital Network: You mentioned the computer group that assists you with scheduling; how does that process work?

Mark Womack: “They run different versions of what we give them as far as we’d like to keep certain games on certain dates and other parameters. They will produce the rotation of schedules and how that would work over a 12-year period. They can also assist us in trying to tell us whether, mathematically, we can do something or not. They will tell us that these games would fit in or there’s no way to schedule what we want to schedule.”
So, a Bama guy, a former MSU AD, and a Tennessee alum are plotting to screw the entire SEC, except Alabama.  Stop me if you've heard this one.  They conspire amongst themselves, and all of the athletic directors in the SEC to fuck everybody on their scheduling...except Alabama.  They even checked the "fuck everybody except Alabama" box in the computer.  The computer is also probably an Alabama alum.

Womack isn't THE only person that solely does the scheduling.  The athletic directors have to also approve scheduling as well.  Why aren't they screaming to high heaven?  Why aren't the coaches lodging complaints?  I simply don't think it is quite the conspiracy theory that you make it out to be.  The biggest part of the problem for 2013 was adding two additional teams, and trying to keep everybody's rivalry games, and keep them in the week that everybody wants them.
« Last Edit: December 03, 2012, 11:02:53 PM by RWS »
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Re: Why Alabama Has an Easy Schedule in 2012 and 2013?
« Reply #9 on: December 03, 2012, 11:17:40 PM »
If Womack is being biased towards Alabama, he needs to step his game the fuck up.  In 2013, LSU has a bye the week before and week after playing Alabama. The week before the bye week before Alabama, they play Furman.  Auburn gets a bye before playing Alabama.  Ole Miss gets a bye before Alabama.  Say, why doesn't aTm have more than 2 tough games in a row?  Why do they get to play Rice, and Sam Houston State before playing Alabama, then play SMU, Arkansas, BYE?

Oh, and does anybody want to guess what team from the east was due to rotate onto Alabama's schedule in 2013 before the expansion?  Kentucky.  LSU was supposed to get UGA.  They're getting them.  Shit would make alot more sense if everybody went to 9 conference games each season. 
« Last Edit: December 03, 2012, 11:34:28 PM by RWS »
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Re: Why Alabama Has an Easy Schedule in 2012 and 2013?
« Reply #10 on: December 04, 2012, 09:00:02 AM »
Hey I need to cover a warming dish, does anyone have any spare tinfoil?
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Re: Why Alabama Has an Easy Schedule in 2012 and 2013?
« Reply #11 on: December 04, 2012, 09:47:44 AM »
Hey I need to cover a warming dish, does anyone have any spare tinfoil?

No, I'm not sharing my toys.

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