Former SEC Commissioner Mike Slive Dies At Age 77

Former Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive died on Wednesday in Birmingham, Alabama, at the age of 77.

“Mike Slive was a true visionary in the world of intercollegiate athletics,” Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek said. “Under his thoughtful leadership, the Southeastern Conference and its member schools flourished providing thousands of student-athletes each year an opportunity to learn, grow and succeed all while achieving record-breaking success in athletics competition. His passion for our conference and its success was exceeded only by his love for the student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans he served.”

Slive became the seventh commissioner of the SEC in 2002, leading the conference to a remarkable era of success and helping shape the landscape of college sports until his retirement in 2015. The league enjoyed unprecedented success under his leadership, including seven straight Bowl Championship Series national titles in football. During his tenure, the SEC won 81 national championships in 17 of its 21 sponsored sports. Slive engineered groundbreaking television contracts – including the creation of the SEC Network – helped usher in league expansion and numerous initiatives that kept the league in its preeminent position.

Prior to joining the SEC, Slive was the founding commissioner of two conferences – the Great Midwest Conference and Conference USA. He also founded a law firm (Mike Slive – Mike Glazier Sports Group) that assisted NCAA schools in compliance matters, a Director of Athletics at Cornell University and a member of numerous leadership committees during his career. He was an attorney and a district court judge in New Hampshire before turning his focus to athletics.

Born July 26, 1940, Slive was a native of Utica, N.Y. and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1962. He earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia Law School in 1965 and an LLM from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1966.

Slive is survived by his wife of 49 years Liz, his daughter Anna, son-in-law Judd Harwood and granddaughter Abigail. A memorial will be held Friday at 11:30 a.m. at Temple Emanu-El, 2100 Highland Avenue South in Birmingham, preceded by a private graveside service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Mike Slive Foundation at MikeSliveFoundation.org.