Slive Gets An Extension
March 5th, 2009 ║ Posted By: John Pennington ║ Permalink ║ Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
SEC commissioner Mike Slive has received a contract extension that will keep him at the head of the conference through July 31st, 2012.
Under Slive’s watch, the SEC has accomplished two big, big things:
1) The league’s act has been cleaned up considerably since Slive arrived. Stated as one of his main goals, the number of programs on probation has increased drastically since 2002.
It’s ironic, therefore, that his extension is announced on the same day that word comes of possible “major” violations at Alabama. The commish can’t be too happy about that.
2) Slive oversaw the biggest television revenue boom in college sports history. This year, the SEC will begin new contracts with CBS and ESPN that will bring the league more than three billion dollars (you read that right) in tv cash from 2009 through 2024.
Using the possibility of an “SEC Network” as a bargaining chip, Slive played both networks and essentially secured the conference’s financial future for years to come.
The move looks even better now that the economy has taken a hit.
While other programs and conferences might struggle, the SEC’s teams will be flush with cash… which will allow them to build an even larger athletic advantage over rival schools and conferences.
This was an excellent move by the SEC. Not only has Slive cleaned up the league and built revenues, but he’s also proven to be a forward-thinker, having vocally supported college football championship ideas other than the current BCS.
