TUCKER - The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has fired its commissioner, William E. Lide, after an audit cited him with financial mismanagement, the league announced Monday. <br />
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Tuskegee University President Benjamin E. Payton, who is chairman of the SIAC's Council of Presidents, said in a statement that the council voted to fire Lide after suspending him with pay in April. <br />
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Payton said Lide's termination was effective May 31. The statement said a recent internal audit found numerous irregularities, including alleged mishandling of conference finances and failure to inform conference leaders of the league's ``real financial challenges.'' <br />
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An attempt to reach Lide by phone was not immediately successful. <br />
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Payton said the council named George Mategakis, a current member of the SIAC staff, as interim commissioner while it seeks a permanent successor to Lide. <br />
The conference, based in Tucker, has 13 member schools competing in Division II. <br />
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Lide, who became commissioner of the SIAC in 2003, previously served as athletic director of the University of Central Arkansas. He holds a doctorate from Ohio State University, where he was a graduate assistant under football coach Woody Hayes.
