Mike Slive: College players shouldn’t be employees, but...

SEC commissioner Mike Slive continues to push for greater autonomy for the “big five” conferences -- the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC -- and while he doesn’t agree with the unionization efforts at Northwestern he ultimately does see changes coming in the near future.

Slive spoke at an APSE regional meeting in Alabama on Tuesday and had this to say, among other topics:

“Student-athletes shouldn’t be employees. If you put that aside, what’s being asked for (by union backers) are the same things the five of us put forward last fall. What’s the substance of the issue, not the nature. What we are trying to accomplish are these issues.”

With the five power conference having the autonomy to compensate players in a way that non-power conferences cannot (since the money’s not there), perhaps it would mitigate the most common complaint from current and former players. That complaint: With all the money that’s being thrown around, why aren’t we seeing any of it?

Slive emphasized whatever compensation plan is drawn up would be “in the context of higher education” -- so if it passes, “student-athlete” will still be a thing going forward. Slive said expects something to materialize here by August.