Now that SEC Commissioner MIKE SLIVE has stepped down, there will be a "void in college sports," according to Jon Solomon of CBSSPORTS.com. Slive was in his position for 13 years, and "few people's words carried more weight across college sports" in an era when NCAA leaders "struggled to react proactively to a changing landscape." This "doesn't mean Slive was perfect or always got what he wanted." Nor should it "imply that other capable leaders, such as Slive's SEC successor, GREG SANKEY, can't help navigate the NCAA through a turbulent present and future." But as Slive departs, his approach to leadership is "worth reflecting on." Georgia AD GREG MCGARITY said Slive's personal touch "makes everyone feel important." Solomon noted several "obvious legacies have been and will be linked to Slive: leading the creation of the College Football Playoff, adding Missouri and Texas A&M to the SEC, creating the SEC Network, achieving unparalleled football success, and accumulating lots of money for SEC schools." It is "impossible to say that the SEC wouldn't have exploded under anyone else" after ROY KRAMER retired as commissioner in '02. But Slive "mastered the behind-the-scenes politics and changed the SEC's image by tackling two key issues that he cherishes as accomplishments: ending the SEC in-fighting over NCAA violations and improving the league's diversity." South Carolina Senior Associate AD CHARLES BLOOM, who was a spokesperson for Slive at the SEC, said, "He's probably the greatest combination of intelligence and empathy that I've ever come across" (CBSSPORTS.com, 6/8).
ONLY SEMI-RETIRED: In Birmingham, Natalie Pierre noted Slive on Aug. 1 "will begin his role as a consultant" to the SEC for four years, and the role "will be whatever Sankey would like it to be." While Slive said that he "has 'no idea' what that will consist of, he does know that he wants to provide his longtime friend and former right-hand man with some space to do his new job." Slive: "I expect to step out of the limelight, to be helpful and available for Greg or anyone in the league that would like to talk about something. But I really want to step aside and make sure that Greg has the opportunity to be the commissioner and to put his own stamp on the league. ... One thing I don't want to do is be someone who is no longer there and second guesses other people. I won't do that" (BIRMINGHAM NEWS, 6/9).
