The old ACC is gone, so what will this new ACC look like?

I wasn't present for the I'm not going to say angry Jim Phillips state of the ACC address at ACC football kickoff I did watch it on TV and I was struck Sir Mr Phillips the commissioner of the atlanticos conference I was struck by the determination that uh you presented uh the state of the league I thought it was impressive uh and I thought fun especially when we got to we are clearly the uh in the top three of the major conferences how are you thank you so much for the time uh and so take me back to that take me back to that moment when uh you presented a very defiant front great to be on with you Adam and um I I I would just say I it had been building up a little bit um over the course of the last six eight months or so here's the bottom line the the bottom line is this is a very good conference that's healthy if you if you look at any of the metrics athletically seven national titles last year 23 in the last three years leads all conference and League sponsored Sports cfp second most national championships second best winning percentage we know what the basketball looks like I mean we're 33 and 15 in the last three years we had four different final four teams in the last three years a athletically I mean we are healthy academically it's the best conference in FBS there there's no question US News and World Report National NCA graduation success rates academic performance rates all of that financially we've surpassed over $700 million it's a 14% increase we distributed over four $45 million to each school it's a league record it's one of the top three and then you know innovation you look at $600 million in new incremental Revenue based on bringing in SMU Cal Stanford all of those things success initiatives if you play well in football and basketball you will you will be given more your distribution will be larger than someone else that has a 4-8 season or three and9 season and the rest of it and so at the end of the day it was a it was a chance at that Forum to set the record straight and I think we all get distracted and it our attention gets taken to different areas and unfortunately that's kind of been where it's been because of the legal issues and and and I I get it and people are asking about that and that is a legitimate question that question needs to be asked but it's it it is overshadowed Adam the the incredible year that the league has had and where the league is going so that was that was really the the statement um that you're referring to back in July I loved it by the way I'm not kidding I absolutely loved it I'm going to ask one question about the legal uh legal issue and you can give me a yes or no answer uh and then I want to move on to the football season um is there a chance you would settle with Florida State and Clemson yeah I I I I'm again it's a legal case I can't really comment on it other than we are going to fight and protect a legal document that was signed mult mple Time by all of our schools that's that that is a good enough answer uh I can editorialize that on my own all right uh the optimism going into this football season and I believe the optimism grows based on the result that we saw in Dublin Ireland because it's very possible because they looked like it the Georgia Tech is a legitimately good football team they don't have to be playoff good they just have to be good uh and you've got uh NC State which should have a good year Virginia Tech finally coming back uh to the uh to the contenders Miami might have the best roster outside of Georgia and Ohio State in all of college football SMU Clemson Louisville there's a lot of good football teams uh in this league so as we head into this season which is pivotal in the first year of the college football playoff uh what's your level of optimism I'm really optimistic I I I think you set it up well and it's we're coming off a year um where we had 11 of our 14 teams that were eligible for a bowl game so when you think about that Adam that that's pretty remarkable that that you have to be at least six and six right and we had an undefeated Champion we all know kind of how that played out yeah disappointing Etc but the the league in football is super healthy and I think you mentioned it you you you mentioned just tidbits those were two really good teams that played in Ireland state is a really good team coached by a really good coach um and i' say the same thing about Georgia Tech and it was a game that literally came down to the last play of the game right y um but I think that bodge well and um what you have though is you you end up you end up cannibalizing yourself when you get into the league play so it will be important for us to have a good non-conference year and again going back to last year this is a new season but we were 11- n against the Big 10 and the SEC people didn't talk about that nearly enough we won some great games we got to do the same thing those are two really good football conferences so the the Slate is clean but we're going to have some opportunities I mean think about the games this weekend I mean some really really good games I'm gonna head down to tonight I'm going to go to to uh NC State and and watch them play I'm gonna try to get to the second half maybe awake Forest tomorrow I'm going to go see Duke play Saturday I'm gonna go to Atlanta and see Clemson and and Georgia play Miami plays at at uh at Florida um you know so there's a bunch of good games going on already in week one and uh we have to you know get off to a good start and have a similar kind of record that we did last year that that put us in conversation all year for the cfp and the other good thing is that you've talked about and you follow it really closely uh Adam and that is the expansion of the playoff really really is is is beneficial for college football teams in the sense that you could stub your toe early in the year and still have a legitimate shot to get into the playoff um you may be able to even do it twice if it's the right opponents in the right set of circumstances and so perfection even Perfection last year didn't warrant you know a bid th this year that will be different it really will be and uh and I think that that's good for college football I think it's really good for the college football fan that has great interest and I don't think it lessens the regular season at all but again really excited about the the upcoming year in ACC football I personally think Florida State's exclusion was more about Alabama and the fact that so many people on that committee uh were uh couldn't unwrap their minds around how can we have a playoff without the SEC uh way more than it was about Florida State I thought it was a convenient excuse uh and there are probably other factors that I won't get into you mentioned Jim Phillips commissioner of the ACC you mentioned the financial success so the ACC network has been even by ESPN's admission uh a huge financial Boon for them you guys split the revenue uh the proceeds of that you know down the middle um how much more growth do you anticipate with the network you have to be happy with how it's gone over the first several years I have and and so have our schools I mean it's Ed millions and millions of dollarss um for our schools and and I have been pleased and it's and we we went up there last week before going to Ireland uh to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the ACC Network and it it has prospered even more than I think initially was was thought it could do two new markets two new States Dallas Fort Worth as I mentioned um or and and uh uh Northern California so getting um getting distribution in those areas will really be important for us as we look at you know to grow uh the revenues uh and all the rest of it and there's there's two parties that are both motivated as you described perfectly well we're we're we're 5050 Partners in this joint venture and uh and so you know that's not going to stop we're going to continue to be aggressive in in how we can generate additional revenues for our schools and uh and the Network's going to be a key piece of it onfield signage uniform signage helmet signage uh sponsorships title sponsorships where do you stand on all of this how much of it has to be approved at a national level yeah a lot of it Adam another really good question a lot of it has to be approved um by the football competition committee whether it's on the field and you know there's some there's there's um been some leeway there but uh uniforms helmets and those those kinds of things um but we are aggressively as we have done we're aggressively looking at all of our assets within the ACCC to see um how we monetize them to the greatest level and and you saw that with with the addition of Cal Stanford and SMU um to to generate another $600 million for the Legacy Schools which are the schools that obviously are part of the AC prior to them joining on July 1st of this year so we'll continue to be Innovative and creative we have to continue to be Forward Thinking um in the business area and I'm I'm very pleased at how this has grown uh certainly in my four years as commissioner and uh kind of where it's headed in the future I would sell everything I would have a different sponsorship written on the 10 yard line and that 10 yard block and then the 20 yard block and then the 30 yard block I would sell absolutely everything make as much money make make everybody happy uh that's probably over the top all right F final question for Jim Phillips commissioner of the Atlanta Coast Conference um and you and I I think are philosophically uh aligned in this we have in our mind what college sports is about um it's about the experience it's about the opportunity to play Not only football but for all sports all the way through the Olympic sports and credit to the league for claiming Katie Lei as an ACC athlete I loved that I I I laughed so hard it was beautiful uh Tiger Woods too by the way we should claim Tiger Woods um the but today's college football is clearly not there's a there's an element of greed not an element greed has overwhelmed college sports I know you well enough to know that this doesn't sit well with you so how do you weigh your own personal beliefs as to what college athlet should be about and where football has taken everybody yeah I um I I would say I would say this I I call it a reset um you know just a ra major reset in the history of college sports and I think that's how it's going to be looked upon um as we look back in you know in the years to come um the the opportunity for student athletes has never been greater as it relates to monetizing their name image and likeness you've talked about on your show before uh uh if the house case goes through uh and judge Wilkin signs off um they'll be up to 22% of Revenue coming into athletic departments uh through tickets and sponsorship that could go to student athletes uh those will be really local decisions schools will decide what they want to do school by school and and how much and and what student athletes uh you know will will be provided but at the heart of it and it's to your question Adam and that is we can't lose the focus on this is about access and affordability in higher education for young people and besides the GI Bill student athletes are second in scholarships and Grant aads and an ability to go to college like $4.1 billion dollars a year we don't want to lose that because 99% of these kids are not going to be professional athletes so so they if they can if if there's revenue for them to be able to earn while they're in college all for it I'm a father of five two of them are student athletes I get it I'm happy for them um and you can't kind of ring your hands of hey yesterday year and this is you know I can't believe we've gotten to this point we are we are at this point so let's embrace it and do the very best we can but let's not let's not Overlook that this is about getting a degree by getting an education in one of the Great Schools across the country wherever it is and that at at the end of your playing career in college and if you're not fortunate enough to be a professional athlete that you are ready to enter the real world and be a really productive leader um citizen you know in this country or wherever you decide to move to um that's important to me it really is graduation and academics still remain part of the ACC in a big way that's why I'm really prideful of I think it's the best conference in the country from an academic standpoint as well as athletic and in other areas so so you got to get your arms around it it is different but what what I think the beauty is and I saw it again in Ireland is when the whistle blows and the ball's kicked off in the sport of football everybody kind of goes back to rooting for their team and and some of the side stuff and some of the elements that are surrounding us not only in college sports but in the world or in our country kind of disappear for a period of 3 hours and that's a beautiful thing so we're going to continue to take care of it we're going to continue in the ACC to be a leader in college sports um because there's such great benefit for student athletes coaches fans alums people that love sports like you and I and um and I really believe the future is bright so away we go Jim Phillips commissioner of the Atlanta Coast Conference I've kept you too long apologies to anybody I need to apologize to uh you're a gem I appreciate your time hopefully we can talk again uh on and and get even further in depth on a lot of these things in the future uh good luck have fun on your trip this week you're going everywhere I am going everywhere you need to come with me sometime ad I do it I would absolutely do it all right thanks thanks for having me on