The Southwest Conference: The Good, the Dirty, the Greed
By Auston Fertak
When people reminisce about college athletics, only a few select conferences cause them to think, “What a powerhouse!” The Southwest Conference (SWC) was one such conference. For much of its eighty-two year history, the SWC gloried in its distinction as the most tightly-knit league among major college athletic programs. Though not the only conference engaging in recruitment violations, the SWC ranked as one of the worst. Constant sanctions levied on the member universities by the National Collegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA) led, in part, to the break-up of the SWC.
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Scroll down to watch the movie, The Southwest Conference: The Good, The Dirty, The Greed, or to listen to excerpts from an interview with Eric Bentley of the University of Houston.
Click on the arrows below to listen to excerpts from Auston Fertak’s interview with Eric Bentley, associate general counsel at UH on October 16, 2012. Bentley offers insight into the behind-the-scenes view of what foes into marketing and branding, as well as switching conferences for university sports programs.
Bentley discusses the rules that allow the NCAA to place sanctions on its member universities.
Bentley talks about the changes that occur in branding when a university moves to a new conference and how the move to Big East (now American Athletic Conference) will help market the University of Houston.
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