Michael L. Slive, who as commissioner of the Southeastern Conference was instrumental in turning it into arguably the most prominent college sports conference in the country, died on Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala. Mr. Slive, who became commissioner in 2002, was an influential champion for the four-team College Football Playoff, which was implemented in 2014. “It was clear it was not only an athletic decision,” Mr. Slive told The Times in 2015. “It impacted the state, the region, and it really helped vault the SEC from a regional to a national conference.”When Mr. Slive joined the conference after leaving his job as Conference USA commissioner, the Southeastern Conference, as proud as its region, had several members mired in N.C.A.A. issues — he instituted a compliance initiative that helped clean up the league, setting the foundation for unprecedented on-field achievement and off-the-field profitability.

Source: New York Times May 17, 2018 01:18 UTC