Adams: Evaluating the SEC for better or worse

The SEC spring meetings, which concluded Friday, were a celebration of sorts. So what else is new?

As usual, the league announced how much money it made (a lot) and reveled in its championships. But the end of another school year is a reminder that some SEC programs have been more successful than others.

It's also an appropriate time for evaluating which programs are better or worse off now than they were at the end of the last school year. This evaluation has nothing to do with the all-sports standings, which - surprise, surprise - Florida topped again. It's based on the two staples, football and basketball, and - where significant - baseball and women's basketball.

n Alabama: Better.

Never mind what happened in the other sports. Once Alabama capped an unbeaten season by winning the national championship in football, all was well.

Add Mark Ingram's Heisman Trophy - a first for Alabama's program - and you have one of the best years in school history.

As if that's not enough, the Tide will be a popular preseason pick to repeat as national champions in 2010.

Arkansas - Better.

A once-proud basketball program has lost its way. However, it was even further off course in 2008-09 when it went 2-14 in the SEC.

Although coach John Pelphrey is starting to make his predecessor, Stan Heath, look almost competent, football is on the upswing under Bobby Petrino, whose Hogs won eight game last season and are the most likely team to challenge Alabama in the SEC West this fall.

n Auburn: Better.

The controversial hire of football coach Gene Chizik didn't look so bad after the Tigers almost ruined Alabama's season with a near upset, finished with a winning record, registered a top-five recruiting class, and didn't lose offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn to a head-coaching job.

With a new arena and new coach (Tony Barbee), there's at least a chance Auburn fans won't hibernate during basketball season.

n Florida: Worse.

The Gators fell just short of back-to-back national championships in football, qualified for the NCAA basketball tournament after a two-year absence, and won 40 regular-season games in baseball. Despite heavy losses in football, they're still favored to win the SEC East, and coach Billy Donovan didn't lose a starter from his NCAA tournament basketball team.

But how can you lose Tim Tebow and be better?

n Georgia: Better.

Both the men's and women's basketball teams improved this season and should be even better in 2010-11. For all the football team's struggles, a revamped defensive staff is cause for optimism.

n Kentucky: Better.

John Calipari has put Kentucky basketball back in the national spotlight, if not the Final Four. And despite all the early losses to the NBA, Calipari has signed up another star-studded recruiting class.

In women's basketball, Kentucky has surprisingly emerged as the biggest threat to the Lady Vols' dominance.

You have to wonder if Kentucky football will be as successful following the retirement of Rich Brooks, but that uncertainty is overshadowed by the basketball resurgence.

You might be wondering, "But what about the NCAA investigation into Kentucky basketball?"

A 35-win season followed by an NCAA investigation still beats what was going on pre-Calipari.

n LSU: Worse.

The men's basketball team went from first to worst in the SEC in the last year. Although it surely will be improved in 2010-11, it's not ready to contend for a championship.

The football team won one more game in 2009 than 2008, but it lost three of its last five while further establishing coach Les Miles' reputation as a game-day liability.

Even the SEC's most dominant baseball program took a hit. A year after winning the national title, the Tigers went into a mysterious tailspin in the second half of the season and didn't clinch a spot in the SEC tournament until the final weekend of the regular season.

The Tigers rebounded to win the SEC tournament, but no one expects them to match last year's national championship.

n Mississippi State: Better.

The Bulldogs didn't return to the NCAA tournament in basketball, but they won 23 games and came within an overtime of upsetting Kentucky for the SEC tournament championship. The football team was a victory short of qualifying for a bowl, but it manhandled favored Ole Miss and experienced an offensive rebirth under first-year coach Dan Mullen.

n Ole Miss: Worse.

The Rebels didn't play up to preseason expectations in either football or basketball, and there will be less talent on hand in both sports in 2010-11.

n South Carolina: Worse

The men's basketball team dropped to 15-16, and the football team matched the 2008 team by winning seven regular-season games and embarrassing itself in a bowl. An outstanding baseball team couldn't offset all that.

n Tennessee: Worse.

The men's basketball program continued to flourish under Bruce Pearl, who led the Vols to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. And the Lady Vols bounced back from a disappointing 2008-09 season to win the SEC regular-season and tournament championships before being upset in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

That basketball success was more than negated by a staggering decline in football. What gains one-year coach Lane Kiffin made in a 7-6 season, after the 5-7 debacle of 2008, were offset by his sudden departure for Southern California.

Now, another first-year coach, Derek Dooley, faces the biggest challenge of any UT coach since Johnny Majors in the late 1970s.

n Vanderbilt: Worse.

Both basketball programs made the NCAA tournament, but the football program returned to its roots. A year after winning a bowl game, the Commodores went 2-10 while scoring only 71 points in eight SEC games.

And its next offense could be just as bad.

John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.