The Southeastern Conference football media days kicked off Monday in Birmingham, Ala., which means college football is right around the corner.

It also marks the fifth year the University of Missouri has participated in the event since joining the conference in late 2011.

The Tigers joined the SEC after years of not-so-quiet flirtation with the Big 10, but no offer to dance.

But after Nebraska announced it would be leaving the Big 12 for the Big 10 in 2010, all hell broke loose and Missouri finally got its wish — attention.

Missouri — along with Texas A&M — used the Big 12’s upheaval to bolt for the SEC, despite the fact the upheaval had plenty to do with Missouri and Texas A&M flirting with the SEC.

The duo used rumors to cause uncertainty, then used the uncertainty to justify leaving.

It was genius, really.

But five years later, the “why” is less important than ever.

Missouri and A&M are entering their fifth school years as SEC members, and for one of them at least, it’s hard to argue they made a bad decision.

A&M was No. 1 in the country last year in revenue, according to USA Today.

The Aggies made $192 million in 2014-15, $9 million more than anyone else.

The SEC television certainly helped.

The conference led college athletics with a contract that gives each school $34 million, a noticeable difference more than the $25 million their former Big 12 counterparts received.

But the Aggies were really bolstered by $92 million in donations, which was a 300 percent jump from the year before.

The football program recently underwent a massive overhaul to its 100,000-plus capacity stadium, Kyle Field, and wealthy donors stepped up to help out.

But Missouri doesn’t have a 100,000-seat stadium to woo donors and recruits.

The Tigers ranked 30th last year in total revenue ($91 million), which was lower than Big 12 schools Texas ($183 million), Oklahoma ($134 million), Oklahoma State ($95 million) and Kansas ($91 million).

Missouri’s move to the SEC helped its own bottomline, but it didn’t make the school an elite money-maker like it did to Texas A&M.

It didn’t help the football program, either.

Former Head Coach Gary Pinkel led his team to back-to-back SEC East Division titles in 2013 and 2014, and two double-digit losses in the conference title games to Auburn and Alabama.

It was eerily similar to 2007 and 2008, when the Tigers lost by a combined 62 points to Oklahoma in consecutive Big 12 championship games.

Those four games showed fans that despite having the four best seasons in 40 years, Missouri football was still miles behind the powerhouses in its conference, no matter which conference it played in.

Missouri has had harder times on the football recruiting trail.

In the four full recruiting seasons the program has had in the SEC, it has finished better than 13th one time.

It beat out perennial-loser Vanderbilt three times, and Kentucky once.

As you can guess, schools like Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, Auburn and Georgia have dominated recruiting before dominating on the field.

Missouri’s 25th-ranked recruiting class would be third in the current Big 12, but is only 13th in the SEC.

The program is getting better talent and is making more money, but those haven’t matched the increase in competition, at least in football.

The Tigers could have solidified themselves as a solid second-tier Big 12 program behind Oklahoma and Texas.

Instead, they are fighting Vanderbilt and Kentucky for the scraps on the SEC recruiting trail.

And as we see every year, wins on the recruiting trail translate to wins on the field more often than not.

Beating teams with inferior talent is not a recipe for success, but it’s the only recipe Missouri will be working with in the SEC.

If you like the idea of your favorite school making a little more money than it did five years ago, you have to like Missouri’s decision to head south.

If you like playing Alabama, Florida and Auburn instead of Texas, Oklahoma and Baylor, the move was a no-brainer.

But if you liked regional rivalries and the chance to stay competitive in the long run, you’re out of luck.

Maybe the Big 10 will come calling soon.