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The SEC has spent a lot on softball, and it finally resulted in their first NCAA team title.
It seems like every year that SEC resource commitment has been the theme in the WCWS. The SEC schools spent to get better coaches to become more competitive with the Pac-12 and the Big-12. I am under the impression that they have better training, uniforms and facilities, though that could just be ESPN mythology.
The improved facilities, while costly, would do a few things. #1 - It would create a better fan environment, for more OOC wins. #2 - It would improve recruiting, as kids love the new facilities. #3 - The broadcast friendly facilities would get placed on ESPN more. #4 - It would increase the chances of hosting NCAA regionals.
The Pac-12 softball facilities are generally fine, but if the gap has closed then the Pac-12 would be impacted.
The Pac-12 sits in the best under 18 softball states (California and Arizona). In softball that translates into a meaningful talent advantage, but that does not seem to be the case in other sports.
The resource advantage seems real, though. UCB had to spend money just to meet the NCAA standard to be eligible to host. And on TV it seemed obvious that UCB was not too far above that standard. The SEC teams facilities looked better on TV, and they never seem to worry about qualifying to become host sites. Stanford facilities are well above minimum host standards in most sports, but that is not true across the entire Pac-12 in all sports. Advantage SEC.