Mike Slive, the former commissioner of the Southeastern Conference who led the league to unheard-of levels of prosperity and
success, passed away on Wednesday. He was seventy-seven.
Slive passed away in Birmingham, Alabama, where he shared a home with his wife of 49 years, Liz, according to the Southeastern
Conference. The reason of death was not disclosed at the meeting.
After serving as commissioner for 13 years, Slive retired in 2015. He had just resigned because he was fighting prostate cancer.
In 2002, Slive took over as SEC commissioner from Roy Kramer. He joined from Conference USA with the goal of improving the SEC,
which was plagued by problems with NCAA compliance. Shortly after, the SEC emerged as the dominant league in college football,
capturing seven consecutive national titles and securing billion-dollar broadcast deals.
“He was once a friend.”
Slive was the impetus behind the establishment of the SEC Network in 2014, as well as the College Football Playoff and the SEC’s 2012
expansion from 12 to 14 teams with the admission of Texas A&M and Missouri. Additionally, he was a key player in the
implementation of the NCAA’s new governance model, which gave the SEC and the other four most influential and rich conferences
the authority to draft and enact laws.
Son of a butcher, Slive was born in Utica, New York. Before beginning a lengthy career in college athletics, he graduated from law
school and established a firm that helped institutions with NCAA concerns. He was both of them’s original commissioner.
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