SEC Football: Commissioner Mike Slive Extended During Historic Era

The SEC is the best conference in college football, and the commissioner wants to stay along for the ride.

CBS Sports' Bryan Fischer is reporting Mike Slive will be sticking around for a while.

The 71-year-old former judge is as quiet as it gets for a commissioner of a conference that is guaranteed to have won a sixth straight championship.

While loudmouth commissioner’s like the Big Ten’s Jim Delany and the Pac 12’s Larry Scott are more famous, it’s Slive who has produced the results. Delany was all over Slive for his decision to keep Cam Newton eligible even though no evidence of any wrongdoing was ever found. Five months later Ohio State got caught up in one of the biggest collegiate scandals of the year.

And that’s why Slive is better than the rest. He quietly runs the most successful conference in major collegiate sports and has not had one major scandal to speak of. He has kept his programs under control, and the success on the field is a direct result. He has cultivated an environment that every coach and player in the nation wants to be a part of, and the mentality won’t be changing anytime soon.

Then there’s this incredible accomplishment that went completely under the radar as told by Paul Finebau in his Sports Illustrated article:

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When Kentucky played Vanderbilt, for the first time in an SEC football game, two African-American head football coaches were involved. Upon taking over as SEC Commissioner nearly 10 years ago, Slive had gently encouraged presidents to hire minority head coaches. When Sylvester Croom broke the color barrier in 2003, at Mississippi State, it was widely noted and praised across the nation. A few weeks ago, when James Franklin and Joker Phillips met at midfield, it barely caused a ripple, and you can bet that accomplishment pleased Slive greatly.

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With two SEC teams in the national championship, this has been the best season yet fort Slive. There’s no reason to think anything will change as long as he’s in charge. Slive is one of the few positives in a sport that seems to be more corrupted by the day.

Here’s to hoping Slive sticks around for many years to come.