CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The new ACC certainly will change the way the league’s basketball layout looks moving forward, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said Wednesday during the conference’s annual media tipoff event.
California, SMU and Stanford were announced in September as future members, all three joining in 2024, giving the ACC 18 teams in both men’s and women’s basketball. That will impact scheduling, tournament formats and tournament locations.
“It varies a little bit because we’re playing 18 games on the women’s side, 20 games on the men’s side, so that all kind of factors into ultimately,” Phillips said. “I don’t know that we would invite 18 teams to an ACC men’s or women’s basketball championship. We’ll do what the membership wants. I don’t feel like that’s something that we should do. I’ve told them that. I’m not speaking out of turn.
“I think you’ve got to earn your way to play in I think the most prestigious postseason basketball tournaments in the country, and if you don’t get to a certain threshold, then you just don’t make it that year.”
The ACC currently sits at 15 basketball-playing members. All 15 teams qualify for the league’s tournament in March, with this season’s men’s event being held in Washington, D.C., and the women’s tournament being played in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Those locations are, relatively, centrally located for a conference which has current membership spanning from Syracuse, New York, to Louisville, Kentucky, to Miami. But the additions of two schools in California and SMU in Dallas won’t make that the case in 2024 and beyond.
Phillips hinted that the ACC’s new home, in Charlotte, could become a prime spot to host championship events.
“We want to take advantage of this world-class city,” he said. “I think what you’re going to see this fall is you’ll see an announcement that will take us maybe over the next three or four years with our basketball tournaments as well as our Olympic sports.
“Here in the state of North Carolina, there were some commitments that we made to the state in order to stay here and receive some funding. We’ll honor those commitments contractually, et cetera, but this is a really nice place for us.”
Phillips said the feedback and reaction from men’s and women’s coaches around the ACC has been positive and, “they’re excited about (the expansion) because where we are today in the world of college sports.” He also explained that the travel component for current members and new members has been a large part of the discussions around how to navigate the new-look league.
Current ACC members, Phillips explained, will take one trip to California every two years along with a travel partner. Phillips also said there have been discussions about whether the conference wants to begin playing league matchups earlier in the regular season to break up some of the long-distance travel and to add space between games because of the travel.
Phillips added he feels the expansion will help the ACC and its member schools further their reach and notoriety.
“This is a chance for them to bring their programs and their brands out to different markets that are national cities and have a media presence,” Phillips said.
Remembering Butts
Phillips began his address Wednesday by taking a moment to note the death of former Tech women’s basketball assistant coach Tasha Butts.
Butts died Monday after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 41.
“Her dream was to be a head coach. She got that dream last March when Georgetown hired her,” Phillips said. “I had not seen Tasha in nearly two decades after I saw her on the campus (as a player) at Tennessee and she was just so full of life and just such a special woman and a special person and oh too young.
“I had a chance to talk with the women’s coaches (Tuesday) and said the same thing. I think it’s a reminder of the frailties of life, just how powerful people are, and I know Tasha leaves an unbelievable legacy. So our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Butts family.”
A native of Milledgeville, Butts was a member of the Tech staff for four seasons.
About the Author
