After commissioner Jim Phillips stood up for ACC, its teams need to do so, too

He called the legal skirmishes “extremely damaging, disruptive and incredibly harmful” to the conference and vowed to “fight to protect the ACC and our members for as long as it takes.”

He went the next step and offered a reminder about the grant of rights that was signed by ACC members in 2013 and again in 2016 that kept the conference together, led to the creation of ACC Network and effectively bound the schools to the conference through 2035-36.

“This is a really important time for the conference,” he said. “Either you believe in what has been signed or you don’t.”

It was a moment that the ACC and Phillips needed. Media and fans have cast the league as the weak, cash-strapped little brother of the powerful and wealthy Big Ten and the SEC. (A perception that has some basis in fact.)

Florida State officials in particular have not been shy about voicing their complaints about what they believe are insufficient revenues given their value to the conference. Speculation has run rampant that FSU and Clemson have a foot out the door, Virginia and North Carolina could follow shortly after and the rest of the league will be picked apart.

The bravado was highly out of character for Phillips, a genial person who avoids making big splashes in his public comments. It easily was the most forceful that he has been in addressing the lawsuits in public.

In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution later Monday, he said he decided to address the situation about a month ago after not saying much since FSU filed its lawsuit in December and Clemson followed in March.

“I just felt you can’t come to a forum like this and ignore one of the really big topical points of the ACC and felt that that needed to be addressed,” he said.

In the speech, Phillips also raved about the league’s partnership with ESPN, a relationship whose health has been questioned. He touted revenue increases through the addition of Stanford, Cal and SMU and expressed his confidence that the ACC will remain in the top three among in revenue generation (both total and per school) in years to come.

“We are confident in this league and that it will remain a premier conference in college athletics for the long-term future,” he said.

While including the ACC in the top three behind the SEC and Big Ten is a little bit like saying the Libertarian Party is one of the three biggest political parties in the U.S., it was a pushback against the Big 12, whose brash commissioner (Brett Yormark) has positioned his own league as top three.

To that end, it really would help the ACC if its football teams backed Phillips this fall.

The first two weeks of the season will include several high-profile games between ACC teams against SEC and Big Ten counterparts. They include Clemson versus Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Miami at Florida on Aug. 31 and N.C. State versus Tennessee in Charlotte on Sept. 7.

For a lot of reasons, it’s critical for the ACC to hold its own in these and other non-conference games.

ACC supporters would love to have results to challenge the perception that the conference is a football weakling. To some, the league’s football reputation did Florida State no favors last season when it became the first power-conference team to be left out of the College Football Playoff after going undefeated. (It should be pointed out that the ACC was 6-4 against the SEC in the regular season last year – Georgia Tech was 0-2 against Ole Miss and Georgia – and 7-5 including bowl games.)

Non-conference results could be even more critical this year because of the CFP’s expansion from four teams to 12. Not only do potential contenders like the aforementioned Clemson, Miami and N.C. State have to probably finish no worse than 10-2 in regular-season play to have a chance to get in the field, but every résumé from the ACC will be improved by the league performing well in non-conference play.

Going toe to toe with the Big Ten, SEC and Big 12 and getting two teams into the playoff – and having those two teams do well – would add credence to the idea that, yes, the ACC probably will never catch the Big Ten and SEC in revenue, but that doesn’t mean that its teams can’t compete with its moneyed rivals.

And, certainly, stronger teams figure to draw larger TV audiences, something that the ACC could use as it negotiates an extension of its contract with ESPN.

Further, starting this year, ACC schools are eligible to earn up to $25 million from the conference for achievements such as making the CFP, finishing in the CFP rankings, going to a bowl game and earning a bid (and advancing) in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. (This would be on top of the annual distribution from the league, which in 2022-23 averaged $45 million per school.)

It wouldn’t change the fact that two of its members are at odds with the conference, nor that coming changes compelled by lawsuits against the NCAA (including athletes at power-conference schools being eligible to receive up to $21 million annually from their athletic departments) will impact less-wealthy departments more.

But, for a conference desperate for accomplishments more meaningful (at least to TV executives) than NCAA swimming championships and admirable academic reputations, it would bolster its legitimacy and provide reason to hope for better, more lucrative days ahead, and perhaps even peace within its ranks.

Phillips’ remarks were received well. In the AJC interview, he was asked what sort of response he had received from colleagues. He replied that he didn’t know because he had decided to turn off his phone that day to give his full attention to the day’s matters.

He later texted the AJC a screenshot of his phone, which reported 101 new texts, 37 new emails and three missed calls or messages. Presumably, not all of them were inquiries regarding his interest in a cash offer for his home. (The final tallies, he helpfully added later, were 147/56/12.)

Whatever the football equivalent is, the ACC would hope for similar impact this fall.