Destin, Fla. — The SEC is about to make one of the biggest decisions in its 75-year history.

Simply put: Given the enormous popularity of its sports programs has the time come for the conference to create its own television network?

The SEC's football and basketball contacts with its three television partners — CBS, ESPN, and Raycom (formerly Lincoln-Financial) — expire next spring. Negotiations on new deals are under way and conference officials have told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the SEC hopes to have new contracts in place by late summer or early fall.

Part of those negotiations, however, is the SEC's option to create its own network as two other conferences — The Big Ten and the Mountain West — have done. The SEC has been pondering this idea for several years but now it is time to decide.

"The charge we have received from our institutions is to explore two models when it comes to the future of TV in our conference," commissioner Mike Slive said. "One is the traditional route that we have now. The second is to incorporate an SEC network that gives us a greater opportunity for exposure for all of our sports."

Because of the sensitivity of these negotiations, the SEC has asked its members not to discuss the television issues in any kind of detail this week. But Georgia athletics director Damon Evans believes than an SEC TV network is something that must be considered.

"It's a very complicated issue and there are a lot of things you must balance," Evans said. "But I'm the athletics director at Georgia and that means I want to see Georgia on TV as much as possible. Maybe the time is not right to do it now. But this is a discussion we have to have."

This much everyone can agree on. An SEC TV network would give the conference more exposure and bring in more money — perhaps a lot more money.

Neither the Big Ten Network (BTN) nor The Mtn. (Mountain West Sports Network) has turned a profit since they were launched. But the contracts guarantee the conferences will get their money no matter what. In the case of the Big Ten, which signed a 20-year deal with Fox, each school gets an additional $7 million per year.

"Some of our schools have used that money to build facilities and others have used it on the academic side," said Mike Vest, a spokesman for the Big Ten Network. "Over the life of the contract it is a significant boost to the schools."

If the SEC creates its own TV network, CBS and ESPN would still get the early picks among SEC football games. An SEC TV network would kick in on the next tier of games to which Raycom now owns the rights.

So if anybody should be nervous right now, it is Raycom.

"We have a long standing relationship as a television partner with the SEC and we look forward to continuing that relationship," said Jimmy Rayburn, the executive producer for SEC football for Raycom.

So if the SEC network gives the league more exposure and more money then why not do it?

Three problems: Distribution. Distribution. Distribution.

When the Big Ten Network was launched, the league did not have a deal with a major cable TV provider. As a result only about a third of the people in the Big Ten footprint could actually get the BTN. Commissioner Jim Delany caught a lot of heat from fans. The Big Ten will soon sign a deal with Comcast that will solve most of its distribution problems.

But if the SEC launches a network it will require almost 100 percent distribution on Day 1.

Example: The 2007 Alabama-Tennessee game was on Lincoln-Financial. What would have happened if that game had been on the SEC TV network and, because of distribution problems, some fans in those states could not see it?

"In the Big Ten something like that would make people mad," said one TV executive who asked that his name be withheld. "In the SEC there would have been bodily injury."

A number of suitors have indicated that they would be more than willing to help the SEC with its distribution issues. Atlanta-based FSN South, which also owns SportSouth, already has the infrastructure in place as it reaches 21 million homes in SEC territory.

"I will simply say that we are interested in discussing whatever TV model the SEC decides to pursue," said Jeff Genthner, the senior vice-president of FSN South.

CSS, which is also based in Atlanta, would like to use its partnership with cable companies Comcast and Charter Communications as leverage to get the SEC to look its way if it creates a network.

"All I can say is that we would hope to be a part of those discussions," said Mark Fuhrman, the general manager at CSS.

But at the end of the day, the SEC may decide that the current TV model works just fine. The league had 48 conference football games last season. All but nine were broadcast live by their current TV partners. The SEC made $43 million from televised football last season. It could be that the mere possibility of an SEC network is leverage enough to get the kind of deal they want.

"It's an interesting time to be sure," Slive said. "All I can tell you is to stay tuned."