ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips holds his annual forum with the media at the ACC Kickoff and addresses the state the ACC, being a defendant in a lawsuit from his time at Northwestern and how NIL and the transfer portal are affecting college sports. During his address at the annual ACC Kickoff event in Charlotte, Phillips touted the league’s partnership with ESPN and Disney and said the internal strife of the spring has put the ACC in a better place. Seven ACC schools, dubbed the “Magnificent Seven,” held meetings to discuss their long-term futures in the league amid an accelerating revenue gap with the SEC and Big Ten. North Carolina and NC State were among the schools meeting, along with Clemson and Florida State, schools that have been more public in their disappointment with the league’s financial picture. The schools discussed, among other items, if it was possible to get out of the league’s lengthy Grant of Rights agreement. Media reports about the group surfaced before the ACC’s spring meetings, leading to awkward but candid conversations among school leaders.
The league moved quickly to finalize the framework of an unequal revenue distribution plan based on on-field success in certain sports to begin in 2024-25. Phillips said he and leaders from each school have scheduled weekly meetings throughout the summer and sometimes meet more than once a week. The ACC generated a record $617 million in the fiscal year
that ended June 30 and distributed around $40 million to each of its 14 football-playing members. The payouts ranged from $37.9 million to $41.3 million. But the overall revenue figure was more than $180 million less than the SEC and Big Ten generated — and those leagues are about to get even richer as expansion and new television deals go into effect. The ACC is second among Power 5 conferences in College Football Playoff appearances and titles, Phillips said. The league’s schools won nine national titles in 2022-23 and 16 over the past two years, both tops nationally. But the league was left out of the four-team CFP in 2022. No football-playing member outside of Clemson and Florida State has made an a CFP.
Phillips touted the league’s early season nationally televised games, including North Carolina vs. South Carolina and Notre Dame at NC State, as opportunities for the league to showcase itself and its depth.
Full Story: https://www.wralsportsfan.com/bullish-about-our-future-together-acc-commissioner-positive-in-face-of-challenges/20971051/
Subscribe to WRAL:
https://youtube.com/c/wral5
Follow WRAL:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/WRALTV
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WRAL
IG: https://instagram.com/wral
About WRAL-TV:
WRAL is your Raleigh, North Carolina news source. Check out our videos for the latest news in Raleigh, local sports, Raleigh weather, and more at https://WRAL.com
#acc #football #collegefootball
