He credited Slive with helping him land his last two jobs: first at Memphis, a member of Conference USA, and later, at Kentucky.
Calipari waxed poetic on the impact that Slive had on revamping the SEC throughout his 13 years at the helm, calling him a “brilliant mind” and a “forward-thinking leader.”
When Slive took over in 2002, nine of the conference’s 12 schools were on probation. In the years since, the SEC’s schools have netted 67 national titles in 15 different sports.
