Tuscaloosa, Ala. (FBA) – Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive has been named recipient of the Football Bowl Association’s (FBA) Champions Award. Slive will be presented with the Award at the FBA’s Annual Meeting in Nashville on April 14.
“The Football Bowl Association is truly honored to announce Commissioner Mike Slive as this year’s recipient of the Champions Award,” said Wright Waters, executive director of the FBA. “Throughout his stellar career, Commissioner Slive has made immeasurable contributions to post-season college football and the entire bowl system. Most importantly, he always kept the welfare of the student-athlete his highest priority.”
As the seventh commissioner of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Slive has overseen perhaps the greatest era of success since the league was founded in 1933, while helping shape the landscape of college sports as a national leader in intercollegiate athletics. Slive assisted in crafting the new College Football Playoff, and is a leader in the historic effort to reorganize the NCAA for the purpose of creating a governance structure that provides maximum opportunities for student-athletes.
“I am grateful to be the recipient of the FBA’s Champions Award, “ said Slive. “This award is special to me because of the relationships I have enjoyed during my career with many great people who have made the bowl system such an important part of college football. To join the esteemed list of former recipients, all of whom were great contributors to collegiate athletics, is truly an honor and a privilege.”
Slive was named to the post on July 2, 2002 and since that time the SEC has enjoyed unprecedented championship success, including seven consecutive Bowl Championship Series national titles in football. In all, the SEC has won 75 national championships in 17 of its 21 sponsored sports during Slive’s tenure as Commissioner.
Last October, he announced his intention to retire as of July 31, 2015. During his tenure, Slive has developed several initiatives including the SEC Task Force on Compliance and Enforcement; SEC University (SECU), the conference’s academic initiative; the SEC Minority Coaches Database; and an SEC Sportsmanship initiative
Prior to the SEC, Slive was the founding commissioner of two conferences, the founder of a law firm which assisted NCAA institutions in compliance matters and a Director of Athletics.
Past Champions Award winners include Roy Kramer, SEC; Tom Hansen, Pac-12; LaVell Edwards, BYU; Bobby Bowden, Florida State; Grant Teaff, Baylor/American Football Coaches Association; Dennis Poppe, NCAA; and Lee Corso, Indiana/ESPN.
About the FBA
The Football Bowl Association is a non-profit organization established to help build upon the traditions of the bowl games, and bring to light the many benefits of the games beyond the playing field and parades and other activities. Just as bowl games bring a uniqueness to college football, the FBA places a spotlight on the distinctiveness of the games and their history and traditions. The FBA takes the lead in protecting the games, while embracing and honoring the bowl experience for present and future generations. For more information about the Football Bowl Association, visit footballbowlassociation.com.
