It’s only fair that a number of Tampa Bay Rays’ fans are also hard-core University of Florida Gators. For while the small-market Rays are dwarfed in financial wherewithal and payroll by, most notably, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, the Gators are pretty much the gold standard in the Southeastern Conference.
According to USA Today, the Gators (2009-10) outspend almost everybody. The UF athletic budget ($105.8 million) is second only to Tennessee’s $111.6 million. It’s not incidental to success. The Gators have won the most SEC championships (200) in the league’s 78-year history.
So, if UT and UF are the Red Sox and Yankees of the SEC, who’s the Rays? That would be Mississippi State with an athletic budget of $36.2 million–good for 28 championships since 1933.