Former SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and SEC Network host Paul Finebaum closed the first day of the ’15 IMG Intercollegiate Athletics Forum with a lively 30-minute conversation that started with an update on Slive’s health. His energetic response brought applause from the audience. “I’m usually very glad to be here,” he said. “This year, I’m really glad to be here!” After two back surgeries and chemotherapy to treat prostate cancer, Slive said, “Cancer is a competitor, like any other competitor. I’ll be damned if it’s going to get me. Being here is part of that battle.” Finebaum then got down to the business of college athletics, asking Slive how the enterprise might look different in the next five years in the midst of court cases and NCAA governance change. “It’s a fair question,” Slive said. “With all of the glitz, with all of the revenue coming in, does (college athletics) have a place in higher education? If not, they’re not going to keep it. … Can the academy sustain it? Do we have the courage and the fortitude to put it in perspective? To me, it’s got to be part of higher education.” Slive, who was instrumental in creating the CFP, said he favors the four-team model. He said that is mostly because an expanded playoff format would cause the elimination of the SEC championship game, which sells out annually and has a waiting list of 20,000 people for tickets. “Giving up the SEC championship game would be enormously difficult,” Slive said. “Why give that up? We’re not the NFL. We’re not the NBA.”
