Putting stake in SEC title game needs to be priority in Destin

The SEC championship football game created an iconic era in NCAA sports, but it's now time to leave it in its rightful place in the history books.

When the annual SEC spring meetings take place in Destin, Florida, there will be plenty to talk about. Among the topics will be the ongoing negotiations for the conference's position in the College Football Playoff, a possible nine-game conference schedule, and an update on the lastest regarding revenue sharing.

However, one thing that has to be on the table is a grand retinkering of what fans currently know as teh SEC championship game. In its current state, especially if it gets paired up with a nine-game conference schedule or automatic SEC playoff bids, there is not a single positive to playing the game other than extra television money.

However, even the television money has been rendered moot to a degree because how many people are going to lock into a championship game that has seen significantly reduced impact with the expansion of the playoffs.

Both teams are getting in, so why does the game matter? Where's the drama and conflict that keep fans glued throughout while ads play across the screen?

Georgia and Texas got very little, if any, benefit from playing in the championship game last season. Had it not been played, the Bulldogs probably would have still gotten their bye because of the head-to-head win and the Longhorns might have been in even better shape without taking another loss.

Both, as the flag bearers of the SEC last season, could have avoided potential injuries from the game that would have hampered the league's theoretical best chances at claiming a national championship. There are simply bigger priorities for both the teams and the conference than winning a now meaningless SEC championship game.

Still, money is needed to prevent the SEC from falling further behind the Big Ten in what is supposed to be the league's signature sport. So, what better way to soak up the dollar bills than to give fans a game with true meaning to watch.

Should the SEC and Big Ten complete their mission of strong-arming the other two Power Four leagues into giving them four guaranteed playoff spots each in exchange for not forming their own college sports league, then the solution is very simple.

Once the season shakes out, the SEC figures out which teams officially finished No. 4 and No. 5 in the conference standings and have the two play for the right to claim the conference's final playoff spot. In last year's case, it would have been Missouri vs. Ole Miss in Atlanta to see which gets to avoid the shame of going to a bowl game.

Think of all the intrigue there would have been. Eli Drinkwitz vs. Lane Kiffin with the right to hit the road in hopes of bringing the SEC glory awaiting the winning coach.

That's far more must-watch television than a meaningless championship game. The only thing that made those such big blockbusters in the SEC was because there was always some sort of playoff or national championship implication to them.

With that now taken away, there's no need to watch other than boredom and fans of possible future opponents watching in hopes they will get to see a key player go down with injury so their team might have hope. That's not the kind of atmostphere the SEC needs to be creating.

Protect and honor the champions and give at least five teams hope of a playoff berth down the stretch in the final week of the SEC season rather than those likely locked into the four spots. Imagine the intrigue if the Iron Bowl will decide if Auburn has a shot to slide into that play-in game while Arkansas has a chance to knock Missouri out of fourth place while overtaking fifth for the other play-in spot because an Auburn win took Drinkwitz's team down to sixth with a loss to the Razorbacks.

That's ratings. That's drama.

That's also two things that will legitimately be present a couple of weeks later when Auburn and Arkansas lock horns in Atlanta with a spot in the playoffs on the line. There's one other thing that is.

Money. Lots of it.