SN’s ‘best sports cities’ include several SEC towns

The Sporting News released its extensive list of best sports cities, which is naturally skewed to places that have numerous professional teams. Understandable. However, there are also a goodly number of Southeastern Conference college towns that are on the list. It’s a credit to the SEC that so many of these towns are on the list, considering that the biggest draws tend to be the college football team.

Behold:

12. Nashville, Tenn. (Vanderbilt)
41. Gainesville, Fla. (Florida)
57. Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Alabama)
65. Oxford, Miss. (Ole Miss)
77. Athens, Ga. (Georgia)
78. Lexington, Ky. (Kentucky)
79. Baton Rouge, La. (LSU)
80. Knoxville, Tenn. (Tennessee)
81. Columbia, S.C. (South Carolina)
88. Auburn, Ala. (Auburn)
94. Fayetteville, Ark. (Arkansas)
95. Starkville, Miss. (Mississippi State)

The list was long, going 399-cities deep, including towns like Winooski, Vt.