Slive, SEC presidents have their way: A crackdown on over-signing

DESTIN, Fla. - The coaches voted one way. The presidents over-ruled them. And SEC commissioner Mike Slive showed, at least for today, that he really runs his conference.

At least that’s the read from Friday’s events, when the SEC school presidents voted – unanimously, according to Slive – to crack down on over-signing.

The annual limit on recruits was dropped from 28 to 25. The coaches voted unanimously against that two days before, according to South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier.

But Slive, who put together a series of roster management proposals, won the day.

“They don’t agree with everything, but I think they are some things with which they do agree,” Slive said. “Obviously they had their own interests to pursue. I though the conversation was helpful. Some of the issues we were able to accommodate their concern, some of them we were not.”

The conference now plans to send an official request to NCAA president Mark Emmert to have the NCAA adopt a uniform standard. There had been concern about the SEC putting itself in a position of competitive imbalance, but Slive, whose league has won the past five BCS championships, was adamant.

“No one, no one wants to win more than I do,” Slive said. “But we don’t want to win at the expense of young people.”

Georgia president Michael Adams, a vocal opponent of over-signing, was beaming as he departed the meetings.

“It’s a good day to be in the SEC,” Adams said. “People did the right thing. … People voted right. This was a good high point for us, I think.”

The 25-limit wasn’t the only part of the package of proposals that passed.

- The conference will now approve all requests for medical disqualifications. If necessary, it will seek an outside opinion.

- The exemption allowing graduate students to transfer in and not sit out a year was also eliminated, although it won’t go into effect until later. That means former N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson would still be able to play at an SEC school this year.

Meanwhile, the league also announced that:

- Schools are now prohibited from hosting seven-on-seven events on campus. The move is an effort to combat what Slive called the “creep” of importance of seven-on-seven coaches and organizers, similar to AAU basketball.

- The SEC will distribute $220 million to its schools, an increase of 5.3 percent over last year. The $220 million is for the 2010-11 fiscal year, with most of it ($113 million) coming from football television.

UPDATE: My full story is now posted at Macon.com. You can read it at this link.