SEC announces addition of women's rowing as league's 22nd sponsored sport

The SEC is now sponsoring women’s rowing as its 22nd sport, the league announced on Friday. It will be the 13th women’s sport in which an SEC Championship will be conducted.

The move was made after a unanimous vote by athletics directors in the league. There are currently four SEC universities with a rowing team in Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Having four programs meets the minimum requirement of 25 percent needed for the conference to sponsor a sport.

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“The addition of Oklahoma and Texas provides the opportunity to support a new SEC championship experience for rowing student-athletes,” league commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “We look forward to providing support to the growth of the sport of rowing in the Southeastern Conference.”

The first SEC rowing championship will be held in May of next year. A location will be announced at a later date.

Alabama and Tennessee were the only two SEC school to participate in rowing prior to the addition of Texas and Oklahoma. They were previously competing in the Big 12 but will now get to compete in the Southeastern Conference instead, along with the Longhorns and Sooners.

Texas won last year’s Big 12 championship and went on to win its third national title in the past four years. Tennessee finished second in the Big 12, with Alabama coming in third and Oklahoma fifth.

SEC announces agreement with Hoover Met to host league baseball tournament through 2028

Elsewhere with the conference, the SEC has made the news official that the SEC Baseball Tournament will remain in Hoover through at least 2028. News broke last week that Hoover and the SEC were close to coming to an agreement on a deal for the tournament to stay at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

On Thursday, the SEC, the City of Hoover and the Public Park and Recreation Board of the City of Hoover released a joint statement that a deal has been finalized.

The SEC also has the option of keeping the SEC Baseball Tournament at Hoover Met in 2029 and 2030.

“The SEC Tournament has become one of the premier events in college baseball and the Hoover Met is a special venue for our fans,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing a positive relationship with the City of Hoover as the home of our baseball tournament.”

Hoover has been the home of the SEC Baseball Tournament since 1998.

The agreement for the tournament to remain at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium comes as renovations to the park have already happened in recent years, with more on the way.

Up next as far as renovations include redesigning and repaving a portion of the parking lot and adding a suite down the third base side of the concourse level. There will also reportedly be an outfield patio on the first base side of the field between the scoreboard and bullpen.