SEC media days kick off today

By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
July 27, 2004
College football fans across the South will get their first taste of the 2004 season today when the Southeastern Conference kicks off its football media days in Birmingham, Ala.
Hundreds of TV, newspaper, radio and internet reporters from across the country will converge on the Wynfrey Hotel for the event.
Each of the 12 teams in the SEC will send its head coach and two players to the three-day media frenzy, which spotlights four teams per day through Thursday.
Auburn and Vanderbilt will be the first two teams featured today at 1:10 p.m. Arkansas and Florida will face the media later this afternoon at 3:10.
Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom will make his SEC media days debut on Wednesday when his Bulldogs take the floor with Georgia. Wide receiver McKinley Scott and nose guard Ronald Fields will answer questions for Mississippi State in its two-hour session, which begins that morning at 8:40.
In Wednesday's second session, Ole Miss will face the masses with Kentucky at 10:40 a.m. In addition to coach David Cutcliffe, the Rebels will be represented by guard Marcus Johnson and safety Eric Oliver.
The final day of the event will feature Alabama and South Carolina at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, followed by LSU and Tennessee later that morning at 10:30.
Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer created a stir on Monday when he announced he will not attend his team's media session, fearing attorneys for former Alabama coaches would serve him a subpoena for his role in the NCAA's sanctions against the Crimson Tide in 2002 (see page B3).
Media Days events are open exclusively to members of the media, but fans can follow along throughout the week at the SEC's Web site, SECsports.com, for video clips, audio clips and quotes.