SEC commissioner Mike Slive has long been a proponent of a playoff in college football.
He's not holding any grudges against those who delayed the process. Mainly, he's just glad it's finally here.
"What's done is done, the past is the past," Slive said. "Really we were all just trying to do something that was good for college football."
It sounded like a difficult process. With every commissioner looking out
for his own conference and interests, a deal was hard to come by.
"There was a lot of give and take, a lot of compromise, but I think our product is one our fans can be excited about, our coaches and student athletes can be excited about as well," Slive said.
As stewards of college football they felt a great responsibility to
maintain the strength of college football, especially continuing the
tradition of the regular season. A four-team playoff was the model that enabled them to do that and generate the excitement at the end of the season that fans have long been clamoring for.
Of course, the process is far from done. There are still decisions to be made about where the games will take place, who will be on the selection committee, and, naturally, how revenue will be distributed.
For now, Slive is happy that the first step has been completed. He's even happier that the SEC seems set to continue their dominance in college sports.
"I think it's hard to imagine winning as many national championships as we have," Slive said.
As he touts the numbers -- 62 titles in the last ten years including nine last year -- he's proud of the non-revenue sports that don't get as much credit for earning titles, especially the five titles SEC women took home last year.
"We tell these guys to come to the SEC and we'll give you a chance to win a national championship," Slive says.
The numbers prove Slive right. Finally, we can be happy that the SEC will get a chance to continue improving those numbers in a system that brings a higher level of equality to college football.
