SEC commissioner Mike Slive, in his annual address to start the league’s Media Days event, acknowledged and amplified the calls for profound change in college athletics.
“We are not deaf to the din of discontent across collegiate athletics that has dominated the news,” Slive said.
“In the words of former president Dwight David Eisenhower, I quote, ‘Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.’”
Among the “din of discontent”: several federal lawsuits that target the “amateurism” model of college athletics and seek compensation for football and basketball players beyond the current value of scholarships; the unionization effort involving Northwestern’s football team; and the push by the SEC and four other power conferences for “autonomy” within the NCAA to set their own rules in certain areas.
“It is critical for the NCAA to change,” Slive said, “and to change in accordance with the vision proposed for the 21st century by the five conferences.”
Slive did not back down from his earlier threat that the SEC will pursue creating a new NCAA division — a Division 4 — if the autonomy proposal is rejected by the Division I board of directors.
“If we do not achieve a positive outcome under the existing big tent of Division I, we will need to consider the establishment of a venue with similar conferences and institutions where we can enact the desired changes in the best interests of our student‑athletes,” Slive said.
Noting that the Board of Directors’ vote is scheduled for Aug. 7, Slive said pointedly: “We will know soon.”
Slive acknowledged “angst” among some Division I members about the impending vote, but said he remains “optimistic” that the plan will be approved.
The SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 are seeking autonomy to change rules in such areas as: stipends for college athletes to cover the full cost of attendance; interactions with agents in players’ transition from college to pro sports; and health benefits for athletes.
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