Colin Cowherd Rips SEC Power Structure Amid Head Coach Tensions

Sports media personality Colin Cowherd criticized the internal beef between SEC coaches. Jerry Lai-Imagn Images

Colin Cowherd Rips SEC Power Structure Amid Head Coach Tensions

Originally posted on CFB-HQ on SI | By Matt De Lima | Last updated May 17, 2026 9:43 AM ET

The Southeastern Conference has spent the past week tripping over itself in public, and Colin Cowherd noticed.

On a recent episode of "The Herd," Cowherd took stock of the cascade of potshots flying between SEC head coaches and concluded the league was no longer the bully it once was. The image he reached for was reality television.

To Cowherd, the conference once treated as the unquestioned king of college football now resembles a cast of "Real Housewives," loud, dysfunctional and showy about a status that has quietly been claimed by someone else.

Why Cowherd compared the SEC to "Real Housewives"

The trigger was a stretch of intra-conference sniping that landed on Ole Miss. Lane Kiffin, now at LSU, told Vanity Fair that recruiting Black prospects to Oxford was harder than to Baton Rouge, citing parental concerns about Mississippi.

One day later, USA Today published Texas coach Steve Sarkisian saying transfers can chase an Ole Miss degree by taking "basket weaving," a jab at academic standards in Oxford.

Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Cowherd's read was less about Ole Miss and more about what the noise revealed.

"You're going to find in life, folks, that real power and real wealth work in the shadows, not in the sunlight," Cowherd said. "I feel like the SEC has become the Real Housewives. They don't really have the power anymore. They used to. They've aged and they're a little dysfunctional."

How Big Ten revenue numbers back the take

The dollars are the part that gives Cowherd's bit some teeth.

The Big Ten announced a record $1.37 billion distribution to its 18 schools for the 2024-25 fiscal year, a roughly $490 million jump tied to the first full year of its Fox, NBC and CBS media package. Ohio State led full members at $91.57 million. The SEC's most recent distribution, announced in February, totaled $1.03 billion across 16 schools for an average near $64.4 million.

"The SEC has become the Real Housewives. They don't really have the power they used to. They've aged and they're a little dysfunctional. The real power is the Big Ten."@colincowherd discusses the infighting between SEC head coaches pic.twitter.com/DTb0pvYcaT
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) May 14, 2026

The on-field results have followed the money. Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana have claimed each of the last three national titles, with Ohio State's roster reportedly built at a $45 million price tag.

Add to the fact that the top two highest-ranked programs in my most recent top 25 are from the Big Ten, and the conference has the trophies, the checks and, for now, the quiet.

This article first appeared on CFB-HQ on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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