Mike Slive launches SEC Media Days with open address

Slive's opening message to the media

"Ten years ago this month, I was asked to be the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference. My first day on the job was to speak at what was described to me as a small press cofererence for SEC Media Days. It was the largest gathering of media I've ever seen, ready to hear from a new commissioner who had yet to even go to an SEC campus.

"A wise man once said, "We must look to the past for inspiration for the future." In that spirit, I want to briefly touch on our successes in the last 10 years, the extraordinary accomplishments of our student athletes, the challenges facing the conference, and the plan for the future to be even stronger in the decades to come.

"I was asked back when in a radio interview about the challenges facing the conference at the time. I identified the following, 10 years ago: Improving the academic performance of our student athletes; maintaining competitive success; ensuring diversity and opportunity; ensuring the future financial security of our athletic departments; and putting infractions behind us.

"How far we've come.

"We've met each of these challenges and done it fast. While continuing to educate great student athletes and maintaining success. Over the past 10 years we have captured 62 national titles in 16 of the 22 sports we sponsor. Last year we won nine national championships. Five were won by our women's teams. This is a tribute, not only to our student athletes, but to the commitment that our institutions have made in support of women's athletics.

"Ten years ago, no minority had served as a head football coach in the history of the Southeastern Conference. Today, I'm very grateful that the hiring of minority coaches is not a story. Just part of who we are. This fall, you will see something about Sylvester Croom, the first African-American head football coach in the history of the SEC.

"We have contributed to the financial stability of our athletic departments by providing revenue from television, bowl games and championships. We have nearly tripled the annual amount we distribute to our member institutions. But we must continue to be innovative and creative and think outside the box. Winston Churchill said that to improve is to change often. Our focus on the future will echo that.

"Last year at the SEC Media Days we talked about a proposed idea for change. We are encouraged that many of the improvements we discussed were talked about at the presidents' retreat last August. Many of them have been enacted and many are still under discussion. Multi-year athletic scholarships are now permitted under NCAA rules. We continue to focus on improving the amount of an athletic scholarship, to provide our student athletes with more coverage. If students are committed to getting their degrees, after their eligibility is exhausted, we need to have rules that allow them to do that.

"It is important for the NCAA and its institutions to make it clear to every parent and student that preparation academically needs to begin in ninth grade, so that qualifications for an athletic scholarship can be met. We recommend removing hard and fast recruiting calendars, allowing text messaging, the language of our times, and only regulating what matters.

"The national agenda for reform is, at its heart, about integrity. Last week's headlines remind us that we must always be vigilant to protect integrity — and to protect young people. We must maintain an open and honest dialogue across all levels of a university administration. There must be checks and balances within the administrative structure to protect all who come in contact with it.

"Especially those who cannot protect themselves.

"Nothing, no matter how successful, can be allowed to derail the soul of an institution.

"I do want to take a moment to celebrate our student athletes. Not only have they achieved momentous things on the field, but they have in the classroom as well, which tends to be overlooked. Fourty-two SEC athletes were academic all-americans last year, the most of any conference. Three of the eight that receive the NCAAs top academic award each year were from the SEC last year. And seven SEC students earned the NCAA's elite award for the highest GPA in their respective sport's championship. The SEC is out ahead in the classroom. And our student athletes deserve to be honored for those accomplishments.

"In our storied, nearly 80-year history, Texas A&M and Missouri are only the third and fourth new members of the conference. Both are outstanding academic institutions, AAU member institutions, and they have passionate fan bases. They fit. Our transition team was able to provide signature home games for our new teams. We're looking forward to September 8, when Texas A&M hosts Florida and Missouri hosts Georgia. Not a school didn't give up something in scheduling to make this work. It exemplifies the nature of the SEC.

"The goal of our agreements with ESPN was to make us the most widely-distributed conference in the country, and we've done that. The SEC Network, what we call our syndicated package, now reaches 80 million homes, in Chicago, Boston and LA, among others. It's the third most distributed ESPN platform behind ESPN and ESPN2.

"In The Tempest, Shakespeare wrote, "What is past, is prologue." That's apropos here. We're in a new era filled with opportunities, some we'll recognize and some we won't. In terms of expansion and television, this gives us a chance to re-examine our television plans. There has been a lot of speculation about 'Project X.' We now call it Project SEC. Our objective long-term is to work with our television partners to provide fans more of a chance to watch their favorite teams and show that this is a conference with 14 great teams. I could say more. I know you want me to say more. But I won't say more.

"The SEC has supported a four-team playoff for the four best teams since 2004, when an undefeated SEC champion Auburn was left out of the national title game. Now we have it. Is it good for the SEC? Unequivocally, yes. And it's good for college football as well. It was developed over a long period with a lot of give-and-take. We are now able to provide a championship format that not only protects the best regular season in sports, but enhances it.

"We're now looking at sites for hosting, the composition of the championship game, and a selection committee. Things that will influence the selections will include win-loss record, strength of schedule, conference championships and more. This will cause programs to start looking at their out-of-conference schedule and compare it to the strength of their conference.

"Now we have to focus on the Champions Bowl. We have a great partner in the Big 12 and we will work with them to finalize plans for the inaugural game, which will be played in primetime, on January 1. It's unique because it is owned by the conferences. It will feature the two most successful conferences in the BCS era. And it will provide our fans another unique bowl experience.

"We will continue to support our student athletes, increase player safety and encourage cooperation while continuing to compete for championships. Our desire, our dream, our vision, for SEC student athletes, is to continue pushing forward with a pioneering spirit to provide them with more success in the future.

"We are not resting on our laurels. No champion can.

"There's no media event like this in college sports, or any sport. But before we kick off our 80th season, we hope you will tune in and watch the 160 current or former SEC athletes competing in the Summer Olympics.

"We appreciate you being here. Thank you for your coverage. Thank you."