Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive, shown in this July 22, 2009, file photo, announced that an annual New Year's Day bowl game between the SEC and Big 12 will begin in 2014 and last for five years. (AP Photo/ Butch Dill, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 9, 2010, file photo, South Carolina fans cheer before the start of an NCAA college football game against Alabama at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. Game Day in the SEC is big business. Kickoff means devoted fans spending millions on hotels, parking, clothing, food and drink around the SEC _ an obsession in nine states and one that is nearly unrivaled in five of those where there's no major professional competition. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2010, file photo, Georgia head coach Mark Richt paces on the sidelines in the finals minutes of their 31-24 loss to Arkansas in an NCAA college football game in Athens, Ga. The idea that Mark Richt was coaching for his job this season seemed a bit extreme in August. After an 0-2 SEC start, the Bulldogs' first since 1993, that doesn't seem so outlandish anymore. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2009 file photo, Ohio State running back Dan Herron (1) scores a touchdown on a 12-yard reception as the Michigan defense chases during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game in Ann Arbor, Mich. So you're the Big Ten or Pac-10 and you're trying to decide how to split your new, 12-team league into two divisions while keeping traditional rivalries intact and avoiding competitive imbalance and geographic oddities. The SEC, ACC and Big 12 have been through this before _ and their experiences may offer a few lessons. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Associated Press DEFENDER: SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro says the new proxy-access rules are needed to ensure accountability among corporations.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2008 file photograph taken in Jackson, Miss., the Mississippi state flag is framed by the unfinished stair railing on the stage under construction on the south steps of the Capitol. The Confederate symbol on the Mississippi flag could hurt the state's bid to host the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament starting in 2012 because some people find the emblem offensive says Craig Mattox, the SEC assistant commissioner for championships, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010.
