Retiring SEC commissioner Mike Slive announced Friday that he’ll leave his position two months earlier than planned, but he had quite a parting gift for the league’s 14 members: $31.2 million apiece.
That’s how much money each member institution will receive when the SEC distributes the revenue generated during the 2014-15 school year from TV deals, including the new SEC Network, and postseason events in football and other sports.
It’s a record payout for the SEC, up a whopping 49 percent from a year ago, when each member received $20.9 million from the conference.
The overwhelmingly predominant reason for the increase is last summer’s launch of SEC Network, which is available in 90 million homes nationwide.
The SEC wouldn’t disclose the network’s first-year profit and pointed out the new College Football Playoff also contributed to the windfall, but the league conceded the obvious: The network paid off big.
“You can’t have the most successful launch of a television network in cable history and not have an expectation that there would be some revenue to go along with that,” Slive said Friday as the SEC’s annual spring meetings ended.
The SEC said its total distribution to members this year will be $455.8 million, which includes the $31.2 million payments to each school and a total of $19 million previously retained by schools that participated in bowl games. Last year’s total distribution was $309.6 million. A decade ago, the league’s payout was $110.7 million, less than one-fourth of this year’s.
“The ability to provide a significant distribution of revenue is more critical than ever for our institutions,” Slive said.
The SEC’s revenue this year is the most ever by an NCAA conference, topping the previous high of $338.9 million reported by the Big Ten last year.
After delivering the news of his league’s record financial performance, Slive had news of a more personal note, informing SEC presidents of his intention to leave his position Monday instead of waiting until his planned July 31 retirement date.
Slive, 74, who has battled prostate cancer, last year announced plans to retire. The presidents and chancellors of the SEC institutions earlier this year chose Greg Sankey, Slive’s long-time deputy, as the new commissioner. Sankey will take over on Monday.
“It just seemed to me this is the right time and the right place to make that transition,” Slive said. “It’s a good breakpoint, considering the issues I worked on and the issues Greg will face starting on Monday.”
Slive said the SEC’s week-long meetings were an emotional occasion for him, admitting that he was brought to tears at one point.
“The outpouring of the love and support that’s gone on for me over the last couple of weeks is really quite gratifying,” he said.
Asked if he found it fitting to walk away on the day he announced record revenue, Slive said: “I’m not a great believer in coincidences, but that’s just the way it worked out.”
He will remain available to the conference in an advisory role through the end of his contract July 31, and he has agreed to serve as a consultant to the league for four years beyond that.
He has been the SEC commissioner for 13 years and often has been called the most powerful person in college sports. He led the SEC’s expansion from 12 to 14 members with the addition of Missouri and Texas A&M, led the launch of SEC Network in partnership with ESPN, and played a key role in the birth of the College Football Playoff.
“People ask me about my legacy, and I really think that is for someone else to decide,” Slive said Friday afternoon. “I think we’ve done a lot. I think we’ve done some good things, both within the league and to whatever extent I’ve been able to do some things for college sports. I’m grateful to have had that opportunity.”
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