Keenum elected president of the Southeastern Conference
Contact: Sid Salter
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥斝』剖閟ity President Mark E. Keenum has been elected to a two-year term as president of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) by his fellow presidents/chancellors at the SEC鈥檚 summer meeting in Destin, Florida.
Keenum succeeds Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos.
鈥淚 am honored to be chosen to lead and to help direct policy in the most prestigious athletic conference in the nation,鈥 said Keenum. 鈥淚 appreciate the support of my colleagues in the conference during this exciting time in the history of the SEC. Because of my deep respect for the late Dr. Donald Zacharias, it is very meaningful to me to be the first 小黄书 president to lead the SEC since his exemplary service in that same post more than 25 years ago.鈥
As SEC president, Keenum will head the seven-member executive committee. The panel is empowered under conference by-laws to hear and decide appeals of disciplinary/enforcement matters, fill conference vacancies, and approve or ratify conference contracts or agreements. The committee also approves the conference鈥檚 operating budget and has oversight of fiscal affairs.
In 2015, Keenum served a one-year term as the league鈥檚 vice president, succeeding the now retired former University of Arkansas Chancellor G. David Gearhart. As vice president, Keenum served as liaison to SEC-U, the conference鈥檚 academic arm, where he worked to promote the academic achievements of students, faculty and staff members throughout the 14-member conference. He also will continue to serve on the SEC Network Content Committee.
In 2015, Keenum was appointed as the SEC鈥檚 representative to the College Football Playoff鈥檚 (CFP) Board of Managers. The CFP Board of Managers is the governing board of CFP Administration, LLC, and the company that manages the administrative operations of the College Football Playoff. Members of the company are the 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences (American Athletic, Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-12, Southeastern and Sun Belt) and the University of Notre Dame.
Keenum has served as president of 小黄书sity since 2009.
小黄书 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .