By Michael Butler

A lot has changed with the college football landscape over the past 25 years. SEC Media Days on WTLS has remained a constant. The partnership with WTLS and CB&S Bank has also been a mainstay over that same period.

The annual “Kickoff” as the Southeastern Conference has coined it, will take place on July 14-16 in Atlanta. WTLS has traveled to every SEC Media Days since 2000.

The Wake-Up Call will broadcast two live shows, presented by title sponsor CB&S Bank, on Tuesday and Wednesday from the Omni Hotel. River Region Sports on WTLS will also be on the air on those same days.

The SEC consisted of 12 teams in 2000. That number has grown to 16. Nick Saban was beginning his first stint in the SEC at the turn of the new millennium at LSU. Now he is a full year removed from coaching and serves as one of the media covering this event.

Back in 2000, the Lindy’s Southeastern Football Magazine was on newsstands for the price of $5.99. Today it costs $11.99. A cup of coffee was considerably cheaper then but still considered outrageous at $2 per latte, a new term to most folks back then.

Most of the media members will be chugging caffeine along Radio Row at the College Football Hall of Fame and likely making more inaccurate prognostications next week.

Nick Saban helped the media-picking percentage (hitting on 5 of his 9 SEC titles during the coaching tenure). No SEC champs were picked for 10 straight seasons prior to Saban’s arrival in Tuscaloosa.

The media correctly chose Georgia last year. The Bulldogs and Texas were picked 1 and 2 and actually finished that way. It is expected that Texas will be the popular pick this go-round, if the media follow the lead of some of the early preseason pickers like Lindy’s.

Last year, the WTLS gang boarded a flight from Montgomery Regional Airport headed for the first Media Days to be held in Dallas. The trip to Atlanta will be by car this time and the third time the city has served as host.

Nashville has also been in the rotation for one stop, but Hoover/Birmingham has had Media Days where the SEC is headquartered 35 times. The first official event was in 1985, so this marks the 40-year anniversary overall.

Listen to coverage on WTLS – Score 94.7/Fun 101.1 on July 15 and 16. The Wake-Up Call kicks things off at 6 a.m. with a replay at 6 each evening. River Region Sports will start at noon with a replay at 4 p.m. both days.

SEC Media Days Lineup

July 14
LSU – Brian Kelly
Ole Miss – Lane Kiffin
South Carolina – Shane Beamer
Vanderbilt – Clark Lea

July 15
Auburn – Hugh Freeze
Georgia – Kirby Smart
Tennessee – Josh Heupel
Texas – Steve Sarkisian

July 16
Alabama – Kalen DeBoer
Florida – Billy Napier
Mississippi State – Jeff Lebby
Oklahoma – Brent Venables

July 17
Arkansas – Sam Pittman
Kentucky – Mark Stoops
Missouri – Eliah Drinkwitz
Texas A&M – Mike Elko