On the day we got probation from SACS, I called a good friend of mine at Auburn.  I told him many faculty at USM (including me) were happy about it b/c SACS might leverage some change at USM.  That same day Auburn's probation was lifted.  He told me most of Auburn's faculty was completely bummed out b/c they didn't get near enough out of SACS leverage.  In fact, they've lost some ground since as Auburn got a court injunction on some of it.

That's how reliance on SACS can let you down.