After four years at the helm of the ACC, Jim Phillips has seen his share of chaos, but stability looks to finally be on the horizon.
ESPN, as many expected, picked up its option to extend its base media rights deal with the ACC through 2036 last week, giving the conference legitimate staying power amid one of the more chaotic periods in college sports history.
“People are paying attention,” Phillips told me. “We’ve had a really nice run lately. We added three really good schools and two amazing markets in amazing states in SMU, Cal and Stanford. We’ve coupled that with [answering the] question that our network’s not going anywhere.”
The ACC-ESPN deal matters on a handful of levels. At the top of that list is likely slowing down the conference realignment carousel -- at least through the next handful of years. Each of the Power Four leagues has a media rights deal in place that runs through at least 2030. Conference realignment in the past has largely swung on when those media agreements are approaching expiration.
The ACC, for its efforts, has also done what it can amid less-than-ideal circumstances to further boost its profile. This year marked the introduction of the “Success Initiative,” which offers schools financial rewards for football and basketball prowess.
The conference also brought in new dollars by adding Geico as the presenting sponsor of the ACC Football Championship and T. Rowe Price as exclusive title sponsor of its men’s basketball championships through 2027.
“This [media deal] has added a great deal of stability,” Phillips said. “It’s disappointing we’re in this situation for a league that has had such great success, but it is what it is. But no question -- this has added tremendous stability with what’s occurred over the last 12 or 18 months.”
Keeping Clemson and FSU in the fold?
With the media deal now in place, those within the industry are also optimistic there’s momentum to resolve the ongoing lawsuits Clemson and Florida State brought against the league.
ESPN reported last week the ACC is working through the creation of a “brand” fund that would distribute money from the TV deal to schools that generate the most revenue for the league in football and basketball. That structure, while not necessarily imminent, could lead to Florida State and Clemson dropping their ongoing lawsuits (Phillips couldn’t comment directly on the ongoing litigation).
Still, those are conversations for future weeks. For now, the ACC has a chance to celebrate a significant victory.
“It’s a clear commitment by ESPN to the ACC’s long term future from a media partnership,” Phillips said. “This has been a mutually beneficial relationship. There’s a collective focus on the future ... and we continue to build, as we’ve done in the past, additional value for both [parties]. … It further solidifies the ACC as one of the premier leagues in all of college sports.”
