Jim Phillips discusses ACC future, state of college football
Jim Phillips took to the podium on Wednesday morning to open up the 2022 ACC Kickoff media event in Charlotte.
And the commissioner had a whole lot to say.
Phillips, who is in his second full year on the job, had an opening statement that lasted almost 30 minutes. He then took questions for another half hour. Phillips talked about the state of college football, the ACC's place in it, NIL deals, media rights, the future of NCAA athletics, expansion and why what is happening right now in the current landscape is so troubling.
"Any new structure of the NCAA must serve the many, not a select few," Phillips said. "We are not the professional ranks. This isn't the NFL or NBA lite. This shouldn't be a winner-take-all or zero-sum structure. College sports has never been elitist or singularly commercial."
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Maybe it shouldn't be a winner-take-all. But that certainly appears to be the game the Big 10 and SEC are playing lately.
Last year, before ACC Kickoff, the talk of the sport was the SEC adding Texas and Oklahoma.
This year, before ACC kickoff, it's the Big 10 landing USC and UCLA.
Phillips insinuated on Wednesday those moves were "disruptive" for college athletics.
And naturally he understands there is legitimate concern among ACC programs and fanbases that the conference is getting left behind.
"I will continue to advocate for college athletics to be a healthy neighborhood," Phillips said. "Not two to three gated communities. ... Access to championships is essential to all neighborhoods."
With that said, Phillips didn't dismiss the notion that the ACC might be looking to expand as well. If he has to, he'd build some more houses in his neighborhood to try and keep up as much as possible with the SEC and the Big 10.
"While the ACC is strong, we are continually evaluating all options that could further strengthen our conference," Phillips said. "And we are engaged in ongoing dialogue with our media partners."
That dialogue likely consists of talk about a bump in annual pay for media rights for the ACC. With the SEC and Big 10 adding powerful programs to their already juggernaut, money-making conferences, their upcoming TV deals figure to dwarf what the ACC is making.
And the ACC is locked in with a grant-of-rights deal until 2036.
It's a problem. One that Phillips and the rest of his partners in the ACC know could be debilitating for the league if the status quo doesn't change.
"All neighborhoods need to be healthy," Phillips said.
He says all schools in the ACC are "really aligned to try to find some solutions to that revenue gap," and he said he's having constant discussions with ESPN in trying to add value to the conference.
"They're motivated and we're motivated," Phillips said, without offering specific details as to what exactly could or would be done to add revenue to the deal.
The biggest fish out there for the ACC is, of course, Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish are full members of the conference in every sport but football. Phillips was asked about potentially landing Notre Dame as a full-time member of the sport that matters most.
He didn't mince words.
"They know we'd love to have them as a member," Phillips said. "If there comes a time when Notre Dame considers moving away from independence, I feel very good it would be the ACC."
Phillips, who said on Wednesday the ACC now fully supports a 12-team playoff model, was also asked if unequal distribution of revenue (teams that bring more value to the TV contract getting a bigger piece of the pie than others) was something that had been discussed by conference leaders.
"All options are on the table," he said.
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