Southeastern Conference football, never far from the spotlight, reclaims center stage today. Many media members will ask heavy questions.

Coaches, being master orators, will speak at great length without saying much of anything.

Wait until you hear Josh Heupel address such critical Tennessee issues as who will play center and how can Joey Aguilar trim his tendency to throw interceptions.

The one great voice of the college game, Commissioner Greg Sankey, may say a little something about future schedules. That matters.

College football was built on rivalries. In the beginning, in-state fights were best. Regional clashes were exciting but left scars. There was no forgetting and not much forgiveness.

Alas, many have forgotten or never understood. One of the best, Tennessee versus Alabama, is now a pawn as the SEC quibbles over whether to play eight or nine league games.

Coaches generally favor keeping it at eight because they don’t want to risk an added defeat and the possible loss of bowl bonuses – or jobs. Administrators generally favor nine because ESPN might pay more for TV rights and help balance budgets.

If the league stays at eight, each team schedule would have just one annual rival. Auburn would be Alabama’s rival. Executives will decide that Vanderbilt is Tennessee’s most logical rival. Vols and Commodores would play every year.

Tennessee and Alabama would become rotational foes, part of a plan so everybody gets to play everybody else now and then. Very old rivals Auburn and Georgia would suffer a similar pain. Other historic rivalries would be interrupted. This is the price paid for conference expansion, a larger TV footprint, income of more and more millions.

Choosing a nine-game conference schedule seems the simple way to preserve such classics. The SEC has a nine-game model on the drawing board that would retain three annual rivals for each team.

Does Tennessee-Alabama really matter, you ask? An entire generation thinks Vol football started with Steve Spurrier and Florida.

In fact, Tennessee leads all of college football in the most success against Alabama, 40 victories. Alabama’s 59 over Tennessee is the record going the other way. This is one thing that actually fits the SEC slogan, it just means more.

Phillip Fulmer had an 11-4 coaching record against Alabama. A certain segment of Tide fans hated him for that and other reasons. The NCAA put the Crimson Tide on probation for recruiting violations. There was no honest debate about the cheating part, guilty as charged. Fans blamed the UT coach for providing incriminating information.

Robert R. Neyland went 12-5-2 against Alabama. Coach Bowden Wyatt was 5-2-1. Doug Dickey was 3-2-1. Bill Battle, former Alabama end who illogically became Tennessee coach at age 28, won his first meeting with his former team – but lost the next six. Even the great Condredge Holloway couldn’t stop the slide.

Coach John Majors went 4-12.

Is Tennessee-Alabama a really big deal? For perspective, consider this famous quote from TV personality Beano Cook: “Don’t die on the third Saturday in October. The preacher may not show up.”

There are so many stories …

The first Tennessee-Alabama game, 1901, Birmingham, never officially ended. It was suspended because of darkness with the score 6-6. Angry Tide fans, denied the probability of winning bets, stormed the field to protest the stoppage. There were fights but no fines.

Surprise, surprise, Alabama was the superior team in the early years. Tennessee lost interest after seven consecutive defeats, one by 51-0. For 13 years, they didn’t play. Neyland, as new coach of the Volunteers, revived the series. He had to work it.

Alabama had played in the Rose Bowl. It had won the national championship. Neyland’s pitch to Tide coach Wallace Wade to get on the 1928 schedule was that the Vols needed help. If they were going to grow, that had to play and learn from better teams.

Wade listened. OK, come on down, third Saturday in October, Tuscaloosa is on your map.

When the coaches met pregame, Neyland proposed shortening the conflict, letting the second-half clock run during timeouts if the Tide was too far ahead. Wade didn’t think that would be necessary but agreed to avoid embarrassing the visitors.

You must have heard the rest of that story. Gene McEver returned the opening kickoff 98 yards. Upstarts won, 15-13, in a stunning upset. Details are in chapter 10 of my first book, Tales of the Tennessee Vols.

Transparency: I was not an eye-witness.

Alabama won the 1935 game, 25-0. Tide senior end Paul Bryant played the entire way despite a broken leg. Afterwards, he shrugged and said it was just a fracture, “one little bone.”

Neyland’s top teams had a tough time with the Tide. The 1950 Vols won, 14-9. The 1951 champs prevailed, 27-13.

The Tide romped, 34-3, in 1961. Alabama trainer Jim Goostree, a UT graduate, defied the risk of lung cancer and dispensed celebratory cigars to players and coaches. Winning teams have since blown smoke.

One of my favorites was 1967, featuring third-string QB Bubba Wyche, Alabama native Richmond Flowers, Albert Dorsey three picks on his happy birthday, Walter Chadwick shot-put pass, Jim Weatherford great game. Steve Kiner inflicted bodily harm, joy, joy for the Volunteers.

Coach Bryant made his final trip to Neyland Stadium in 1982 … Alabama’s 11-game win streak came to an end … Fuad Reveiz kicked four field goals … Mike Terry’s interception in the waning seconds clinched a 35-28 triumph.

There was a firestorm in 2003, Volunteers 51-43 in five overtimes … Alabama escaped in 2009 as Terrence Cody, 350-pound nose guard, blocked a field-goal attempt on the final play … Nick Saban said 12-10 was winning ugly.

What happened in 2022 was the end of an awful 15-game losing streak. No doubt you know all about Hendon Hooker and Chase McGrath. Maybe you helped take down the goal posts.

So far, the rivalry lives on. Can you imagine SEC godfathers pushing such drama aside so Tennessee can play Missouri or Mississippi State more frequently?

Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com