cincibuck
You kids stay off my lawn!
Let’s not always see the same hands…
I went through each conference and chose two teams that won the most championships during the period in question. Unfortunately, the Big 12 only goes back to 1996 and the data warehouse I used doesn't include Big 8 records. This made it impossible to use Texas/Oklahoma as they were in separate conferences before 1996.
Using 1950 as a baseline:
How many times have Ohio State and/or Michigan been the Big Ten Champions: 47 out of 72 65%
How many times have Alabama and/or Auburn* been the SEC Champions: 31 out of 72 44%
How many times have USC or UCLA been the Pac 12 Champions: 36 out of 72 50%
How many times have Clemson and/or Florida State been the ACC** Champions: 31 out of 69 45%
Using 1990 as a baseline:
Ohio State/Michigan 21 out of 31 67%
Alabama/Auburn 13 out of 31 42%
USC/UCLA 12 out of 31 38%
Clemson/FSU 23 out of 31 74%
Big 12 (1996) Texas/Oklahoma 16 – 25 64%
* Georgia has won more SEC championships than Auburn if you go back to the 30s and 40s.
** Florida State doesn't begin to play football until the 1950s and doesn't join the ACC until 1991
Using championships as a measure, it would seem that the Big Ten is the least competitive conference until Florida State entered the ACC.
Just eye-balling the data, it would seem that the 1950s saw the best balance with more teams winning championships in each conference. Big Ten had 9 teams win the conference, SEC had 9, PAC 8 had 6 and the ACC had 4 during 1953 - 1959. If I add the 1960s the Big Ten sees all 10 members - even Indiana - win or share a championship.
In 1974 the conference finally allowed more than one team to go to a bowl game. While that may have made more fans happy, I wonder if it wasn't the moment that Ohio State and Michigan began to dominate. i.e. instead of helping keep the conference balanced, it allowed the big dogs to rule.
I went through each conference and chose two teams that won the most championships during the period in question. Unfortunately, the Big 12 only goes back to 1996 and the data warehouse I used doesn't include Big 8 records. This made it impossible to use Texas/Oklahoma as they were in separate conferences before 1996.
Using 1950 as a baseline:
How many times have Ohio State and/or Michigan been the Big Ten Champions: 47 out of 72 65%
How many times have Alabama and/or Auburn* been the SEC Champions: 31 out of 72 44%
How many times have USC or UCLA been the Pac 12 Champions: 36 out of 72 50%
How many times have Clemson and/or Florida State been the ACC** Champions: 31 out of 69 45%
Using 1990 as a baseline:
Ohio State/Michigan 21 out of 31 67%
Alabama/Auburn 13 out of 31 42%
USC/UCLA 12 out of 31 38%
Clemson/FSU 23 out of 31 74%
Big 12 (1996) Texas/Oklahoma 16 – 25 64%
* Georgia has won more SEC championships than Auburn if you go back to the 30s and 40s.
** Florida State doesn't begin to play football until the 1950s and doesn't join the ACC until 1991
Using championships as a measure, it would seem that the Big Ten is the least competitive conference until Florida State entered the ACC.
Just eye-balling the data, it would seem that the 1950s saw the best balance with more teams winning championships in each conference. Big Ten had 9 teams win the conference, SEC had 9, PAC 8 had 6 and the ACC had 4 during 1953 - 1959. If I add the 1960s the Big Ten sees all 10 members - even Indiana - win or share a championship.
In 1974 the conference finally allowed more than one team to go to a bowl game. While that may have made more fans happy, I wonder if it wasn't the moment that Ohio State and Michigan began to dominate. i.e. instead of helping keep the conference balanced, it allowed the big dogs to rule.
