SEC Announces New Rules And Revenue Distribution, Mike Slive Era Comes To A Close
By Chris Hale
As the SEC Spring Meetings wrapped up in Destin, Fl. on Friday, so did the era of outgoing commissioner Mike Slive.
Slive, originally expected to stay on until next month, announced on Friday that he would transition the duties of SEC commissioner to Greg Sankey on Monday. Slive will stay on in an advisory role for the remaining length of his contract, which ends on July 31. Beginning on August 1, Slive will begin a four-year period as a consultant to the conference.
A Lot of Money
The conference announced that the revenue distribution for the 2014-2015 season was $455.8 million. The distributions are calculated based on the revenue sharing plan for the 2014-15 fiscal year which ends August 31, 2015.
Excluding the amount of money retained by schools that appeared in bowl games, the amount the conference distributed is slightly over $31.2 million per school.
“The ability to provide a significant distribution of revenue is more critical than ever for our institutions as they offer more financial and educational benefits to current and former student-athletes,” said Slive in a statement. “Beginning this year, our schools will fund new costs associated with providing scholarships based on full cost of attendance, enhance lifetime educational opportunities to former student-athletes and they are developing new facilities such as athletic nutrition centers to the benefit of student-athletes.”
The “Act Like You’ve Been There Before” Rule
The conference also announced more strenuous penalties for schools that have fans rush the field or storm the court after a big win. The first violation will cost the school $50,000 for the first offense, up from the original $5,000. The second violation will cost $100,000 and the third will be $250,000. Like in the past, the slate is not reset after three years. Once you reach the third violation, you are there.
Stop Transfers With “Serious Misconduct” Issues
The University of Georgia proposed a rule that would “prohibit a transfer student-athlete who has been subject to official university or athletic department disciplinary action” for serious misconduct. That rule was passed and is effective immediately.
With this rule in effect, transfer hopefuls would have to request a waiver to be able to transfer if they have these issues. The rule mainly centers around sexual assault, domestic violence or other sexual violence offenses.
Show Us The Money In Cost Of Attendance
A rule was approved that forces member institutions to submit a written report that identifies the other expenses beyond the general scholarship that they are counting for cost of attendance.
Some of the schools in the conference (Auburn and Tennessee) are offering a significantly higher stipend for student-athletes. This next school calendar year is the first time such stipends have been allowed and some coaches believe that other schools could alter those numbers to gain an edge on the recruiting trail.
Eight-Man Referee Crew Added For Football
They experimented with this last season but now, all referee crews for next season will have eight on the field. The eighth will work as a center judge.