Mike Slive, the first commissioner of Conference USA and a respected and accomplished leader in college athletics, passed away Wednesday in Birmingham, Alabama, at the age of 77.

Slive is survived by his wife of 49 years, Liz; his daughter Anna; son-in-law Judd Harwood; and granddaughter Abigail who is almost six years old.

A memorial will be held Friday at 11:30 am at Temple Emanu-El, 2100 Highland Avenue South in Birmingham, preceded by a private graveside service.

Slive was named the first Commissioner of Conference USA when the 12-team league was introduced on April 24, 1995.  Under his direction, C-USA quickly emerged as one of the nation’s top conferences.
In addition to achieving success on and of the playing field, C-USA gained prominent national television exposure and NCAA automatic qualifications for its sports, and multiple bowl-tie-ins and access to the Bowl Championship Series for its new football league. 

Slive also benefited the young league through his role on the NCAA Management Council.  He served as the chair of the first NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee and was the chair of the National Letter of Intent Appeals Committee.  Slive was also the chair of the Board of Directors of NCAA Football USA while at Conference USA.

In 2002, Slive became the Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, where he oversaw a remarkable era of success on and off the field.  He served the SEC until his retirement in 2015.

Prior to Conference USA, Slive was the founding commissioner of the Great Midwest Conference.  He also began a law firm which assisted NCAA institutions in compliance matters, served as a Director of Athletics at Cornell and served as a member of numerous leadership committees during the course of his career.

Before he entered the field of athletics, Slive was an attorney and a district court judge in New Hampshire. 

As a prostate cancer survivor, Slive founded the Mike Slive Foundation for Prostate Cancer Research upon his retirement. The Mike Slive Foundation's mission is to raise awareness about prostate cancer and generate funding for prostate cancer research to eradicate the disease.

Born July 26, 1940, Slive was a native of Utica, N.Y., and graduated from Dartmouth College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962. He earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia Law School in 1965 and an LLM from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1966.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Mike Slive Foundation at www.MikeSliveFoundation.org.