So all I can find is this to take it for what its worth. So according to The National University Rankings Best College Rankings - USA Today which Harvard and Princeton and Yale win every year University of Florida and Vanderbilt (obviously) are ranked higher than UT in academics National Universities Rankings - Best Colleges - Education - US News and World Report UGA is ranked HIGHER than Texas A&M (Another school that throws stones at the SEC about Academics) So if you go by this. The SEC has the same if not more schools ranked as best colleges than the Big 12-2 There are three SEC schools before you get 2 Big 12 schools (A&M and UT) Yes I know LSU isnt ranked that high I know. But it is ranked higher than K-State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech Two SEC schools are ranked HIGHER that UT alone. The next one in the Big 12-2 is A&M and UGA is ranked higher than them. SO again I am not trying to make a case that the SEC is the pillar of academics. But I will say again if ANYONE in the Big 12 did a little research they would QUICKLY see the SEC is on par (and arguably) stronger than the Big 12 in Academics. They are arguably the same and you could argue the SEC from top to bottom compared to the Big 12-2 is BETTER. based on this list. Shocked where Ole Miss was...
