The SEC rules the BCS, but can it maintain dominance when 4-team playoff begins in 2014?

Alabama head coach Nick Saban calls out to players during NCAA college football practice, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013 in Miami Shores, Fla. The D word - as in dynasty - is off-limits around Alabama. But if Saban's Crimson Tide can beat No. 1 Notre Dame to become the first team to win consecutive BCS championships and three national titles in four years, Alabama will lay claim to one of the sport's great runs.(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2010, file photo, Alabama head coach Nick Saban holds up the trophy after defeating Texas 37-21 in the BCS national championship NCAA college football game in Pasadena, Calif. The D word - as in dynasty - is off-limits around Alabama. But if Saban's Crimson Tide can beat No. 1 Notre Dame to become the first team to win consecutive BCS championships and three national titles in four years, Alabama will lay claim to one of the sport's great runs. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) (The Associated Press)

Former commissioner Roy Kramer remembers all the fretting when the Southeastern Conference started its own championship game two decades ago.

League coaches were especially worried, fearing an extra contest would make it harder to win a national title.

It sure didn't work out that way. The SEC has ruled like no other conference, capturing an unprecedented six straight national championships. Alabama will try to make it seven in a row when it takes on Notre Dame for the BCS crown Monday night in Miami.

In 2014, there will be another momentous change, spurred in part by the dominance down South. Undoubtedly, there are plenty of folks in the rest of the country hoping the four-team playoff will make it tougher for the SEC to pile up trophies with such regularity.