 Indeed, the Sugar Bowl did "not" feature an SEC team only four times in its first 60 editions, and an SEC team played in the game in every year but one from 1950 to 1995.The SEC's opponent varied from year to year, but prior to the advent of the Bowl Championship Series, it was often the runner-up of the Big Eight, SWC, or a major independent.The Sugar Bowl-SEC relationship has been altered over the past twenty years due to conference realignments and the emergence of a series of coalitions and alliances intending to produce an undisputed national champion in college football, but the ties between the Sugar Bowl and the SEC have persisted and have recently been strengthened.