May is usually the time of year when Power Four college football coaches and administrators come together and coalesce around certain ideas during their individual conference Spring meetings, usually held within a stone\u2019s throw of a beautiful beach. The ACC met this past week in Amelia Island, Fla., while the Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC will hold their annual Spring meetings over the next few weeks.<\/p>\n
And while much of the offseason conversation has revolved around College Football Playoff expansion, the league where \u201cIt Just Means More\u201d has been delving into more reality TV territory. This is following a week where multiple SEC head football coaches lobbed viral barbs at some of their conference brethren<\/a>.<\/p>\n LSU<\/a>\u2018s Lane Kiffin<\/a> started it off Monday when a quote in a Vanity Fair cover story<\/a> about his move from Ole Miss<\/a> to Baton Rouge suggested Mississippi\u2019s troubled racial history made recruiting Black players to the Rebels difficult throughout his six-year tenure in Oxford. A day later, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian<\/a> attacked Ole Miss\u2019s academic standards<\/a> when he told USA Today<\/a> a player can earn a degree from the school for \u201cbasket weaving.\u201d That inspired jokes from around the SEC<\/a>, including new Florida coach Jon Sumrall<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Thursday, prominent FOX Sports radio host Colin Cowherd blasted the SEC for its internal \u201ccat-fighting.\u201d He playfully suggested the league\u2019s football coaches were acting more like they were part of the \u201cThe Real Housewives\u201d reality TV franchise.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like the SEC has become \u2018The Real Housewives of the SEC\u2019 \u2014 everybody\u2019s taking shots and throwing drinks in each other\u2019s face,\u201d Cowherd said Thursday<\/a>. \u201cAnd they\u2019re making a lot of noise, and there\u2019s a lot of commotion. (Meanwhile), the Big Ten is \u2026 the CEO of the waste management company, the founder of the waste management company, who is quietly the richest guy in town times 10, and he\u2019s just staying out of the (lime) light. They\u2019re just keeping quiet. <\/p>\n “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<\/a> discusses the infighting between SEC head coaches pic.twitter.com\/DTb0pvYcaT<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Herd w\/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) May 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBut in the SEC, Kiffin is throwing a drink in Ole Miss\u2019 face, and Sark is throwing one, and they\u2019re throwing high heels at each other and screaming and making all sorts of noise,\u201d Cowherd continued<\/a>. \u201cAnd the real wealth in town is the Big Ten and they\u2019re like, \u2018Look at those silly kids.\u2019 Big Ten, man, I just talked to a Big Ten athletic director yesterday and their revenue projections were huge, and they blew through them. You see Ohio State\u2019s roster? $45 million.\u201d<\/p>\n The SEC\u2019s reputation as college football\u2019s premier conference has taken a serious hit in recent years, especially as the Big Ten has claimed the last three consecutive College Football Playoff national championships. Prior to the Big Ten\u2019s current three-year run \u2014 Michigan (2023), Ohio State (2024), and Indiana (2025) \u2014 the SEC held dominion over the sport with 13 national championships between 2006-22, including six of the eight CFP national titles between 2015-22.<\/p>\n Now, though, based on this past week alone, Cowherd sees the SEC as little more than a dysfunctional group of desperate reality stars eager to stay in the spotlight long past their prime.<\/p>\n