The Southeastern Conference extends across 12 campuses throughout the South.
SEC pride runs high from the stately oaks of Baton Rouge to the swamps of Gainesville and as far north as the blue grass of Kentucky.
Every July those colleges unite and form an SEC-football utopia at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham, Ala. — the site of the annual SEC Media Days.
Head coaches and three players from each conference team speak to media outlets and greet fans gathered at the three-day long hub for everything SEC football.
“It’s an oasis in the desert,” said Holly Anderson, a sports blogger for SB Nation. “It’s a sign that the season is almost here.”
Avid fans anxiously await the arrival of coaches and players in the lobby of the first floor, while reporters gather on the second level.
The popularity of SEC Media Days has soared through the years.
The event drew merely 500 media members in 2005 and the number has increased steadily up until this year’s record-breaking crowd of more than 1,000 people.
The SEC recently moved Media Days a week earlier than other major conferences, which has led to a record number of attendees and the high volume of coverage.
“The stage is all theirs,” said Jason Lieser, a sports writer for the Palm Beach Post. “You’re not missing anything to come here.”
The media use these days to ask questions and often interrogate coaches and players to attempt to gauge expectations for next season.
“Some of the questions are not in the norm of what these coaches are going to see in their weekly press conferences,” Lieser said. “It tends to be a little bit of a soap opera.”
SEC Media Days is a unique place where grown men are seen putting on makeup in the hotel bathroom to prepare for their close-ups and fans bring their own lawn chairs to plant in the middle of the Wynfrey Hotel lobby.
Greg Russo, an Alabama supporter from Birmingham, took his own Alabama chair to SEC Media Days to prepare for the long day Wednesday.
“This year I brought my own chair,” Russo said. “Last year I stood up for five hours.”
SEC Media Days are often the precursor to fall practices, which begin on Aug. 5 for LSU.
“The SEC Media Days mean fall practices are getting ready to start, and in another month, football season is going to begin,” Russo said.
The star attraction of the first day was Alabama coach Nick Saban, fresh off a national championship with the Crimson Tide.
Fans waited all day and surrounded an elevator waiting to catch a glimpse or autograph from the fourth-year coach.
“He’s the best coach in football,” said Hugh Steckel, a Crimson Tide fan from Huntsville, Ala.
Steckel said Saban’s demeanor is what sets him apart from past Alabama coaches.
“It’s strictly business,” Steckel said. “He’s not kissing babies. He’s not shaking hands. He’s serious.”
Steckel was one of hundreds of fans waiting in the lobby for a glimpse of Saban and the other SEC coaches and players.
“I’ve been here since 6:30 a.m., and I’ll be here until the last coach comes through,” Russo said.
The event has found its home in Alabama, a central location for most SEC schools.
“People were saying how it should be moved somewhere else like Atlanta, but you wouldn’t get this kind of crowd anywhere else,” Anderson said.
Anderson said SEC Media Days are a way to reconnect with her colleagues from across the country.
“It’s like a sports nerd’s prom,” Anderson said. “It’s the only time we have to reunite.”
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Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]