Alabama football faces the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship game for the eighth time.
When Arkansas and South Carolina joined the SEC and the league established divisions and a conference championship game, it was groundbreaking. Critics said that the league office was jeopardizing the success of their teams by pitting them against each other the last week of the season.
Instead, commissioner Roy Kramer revolutionized college football.
In the 23 years of the conference title game, no two teams have met more often than Alabama and Florida’s eight meetings. The Gators (11) have the most appearances of all teams in the Eastern division and the Tide (10) have the most appearances of SEC West teams.