Alabama running back Trent Richardson lifts the BCS National Championship Trophy. By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY.

When the University of Alabama defeated Louisiana State in the 2012 BCS Championship Game, the Crimson Tide gave the Southeastern Conference its sixth consecutive BCS Championship.

Nick Saban’s team also reaffirmed the conference’s dominance over the rest of college football.

But how does the SEC continue to come out on top? All signs point to recruiting.

According to the Rivals.com team recruiting rankings, the SEC has finished with a team at No. 2 or better every year since 2006.

In five of those years, a SEC team was perched in the top spot.

Here is the amount of times each SEC team has finished in the top 10 of recruiting since 2006:

Florida: 5
Alabama: 6
LSU: 5
Georgia: 5
Tennessee: 3
Auburn: 4
South Carolina: 1

In correlation with the recruiting rankings, here are the overall records for those teams since 2006:

Florida: 63-18
Alabama: 61-19
LSU: 65-16
Georgia: 54-25
Tennessee: 42-35
Auburn: 56-23
South Carolina: 48-30

As you observe the relation between recruiting and overall records, it’s obvious that teams who finish near the top of recruiting like Florida, Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Auburn, also find sustainable success on the field. They are able to consistently recruit the dynamic and game-changing recruits that other programs covet.

The lesson in college football is simple. If you don’t recruit, you don’t win. When you examine the formula for success for these SEC teams, it starts with recruiting. Recruits have noticed the brand equity that the SEC has created. For the last six years, the Southeastern Conference has been synonymous with championships and premier college football.

However, in 2012, non-SEC teams are looking to re-establish their programs and put themselves in favorable positions to make national championship runs of their own.

After the Feb. 1 National Signing Day, only two of the teams in the Rivals’ top 10 rankings were from the SEC: Florida and Alabama. The rest of the top 10 was comprised of two Pac-12 teams, two Big 12 teams, two ACC teams and two Big 10 teams.

The recruiting momentum has shifted slightly, but with teams like Alabama, LSU, Arkansas and Georgia poised to make a run at the national championship, the SEC’s grip on the top spot in college football seems to be staying put for the foreseeable future.

Recruits will certainly notice and the wheel known as college football recruiting will just keep on turning.

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