The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The SEC participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I in athletic competitions; for football, it is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A. The conference is one of the most successful financially, consistently leading most conferences in revenue distribution to its members, including an SEC record $220.0 million for the 2010–2011 fiscal year.

The SEC was also the first NCAA Division I conference to hold a championship game (and award a subsequent title) for college football, and was one of the founding members of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). The current SEC commissioner is Michael Slive.

The SEC was established on December 8 and 9, 1932, when the thirteen members of the Southern Conference located west and south of the Appalachian Mountains left to form their own conference. Ten of the thirteen founding members have remained in the conference since its inception: the University of Alabama, Auburn University, the University of Florida, the University of Georgia, the University of Kentucky, Louisiana State University ("LSU"), the University of Mississippi ("Ole Miss"), Mississippi State University, the University of Tennessee, and Vanderbilt University.