Knowing sooner rather than later matters for practical reasons. For instance, the University of Georgia Athletic Association is delaying the sending of Hartman Fund donation forms until it is known for certain what teams the Bulldogs will play, and when. The rest of the conference’s member institutions, and their donors, are being similarly inconvenienced by the delay. Right now, no one can make plans for next fall, because we don’t know the schedule.

My quarrel with the wait also is somewhat selfish on my part; I’ve been prepared for days to publish a posting addressing the breaking news of the schedule announcement, and, frankly, I’d like to be able to take a few days off over the holidays. If the schedule is released on Christmas Day, I will face the choice of taking time away from family or failing to report on breaking news while it’s current. I don’t care for being placed in that position.

Finally, I object because I believe this is calculated on the league’s part. We’ve been getting leaks on this for a couple of weeks now, and issues like the site of the Arkansas-Texas A&M game, as well as comments like that of South Carolina’s athletic director, make it clear that a substantial number of SEC fans are going to be unhappy with the schedule when it is announced. I believe the conference is holding up the release until Christmas—-note that the league said “not before Christmas,” not “not until after Christmas”—-in order to blunt criticism by dumping the story on a holiday, much as the White House attempts to bury unpleasant stories by dumping them all on Friday afternoons. I think it’s very likely the schedule will be released on December 25, which, frankly, ticks me off.

An awful idea.

The Grip had a wonderful, awful idea!