SBJ College: ACC's Jim Phillips talks newfound stability

After three 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.”

LSU is formally getting in on the Super Bowl action in New Orleans this week.

“The Geaux Zone,” developed in conjunction with the Collegiate Licensing Co., will be held on Saturday from 10am-6pm CT in the Central Business District at 1001 Gravier Street -- just a mile from the French Quarter and a half mile from Caesars Superdome.

The event will feature meet-and-greets with former Tiger standouts such as the Saints' Tyrann Mathieu and Clyde Edwards-Helaire and the Jaguars' Brian Thomas Jr.

Fans may also purchase limited-edition items and special NOLA- and Mardi Gras-inspired designs specifically created for the event, as well as a product “Custom Zone” for fans to personalize their gear. Free F&B from Beignet Box and Lucky Dogs will be served, along with an appearance by mascot Mike the Tiger.

CLC, a subsidiary of Learfield, is helping put on the event as it serves as LSU’s exclusive merchandise licensing agent.

The event is just the latest looking to tap into LSU alumni at the Super Bowl. My colleague Ben Fischer reported that the  “Bengals Bayou House” will open to industry professionals and fans on Friday and Saturday in the Big Easy. All told, 21 Bengals players over the years came from LSU -- including Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and former player Andrew Whitworth -- and all of them have been invited to appear at the house.

Kyan Brown was frustrated. Well, annoyed. Both, really. 

Omaha had lost back-to-back games in non-conference play when Brown, an assistant basketball coach for the Mavericks, strode into the locker room only to trip on a trash can. He yelled in annoyance at the receptacle, while simultaneously firing up the squad.

It struck a chord.

After beating Cal Poly a few days later, the first words out of anyone’s mouth that night were simply, “Go get the can.” And so Omaha’s “Bring Your Own Can” promotion was born.

“I had said at the hockey game on [that] Saturday to the athletic director, ‘Hey, we have to do this 'Bring Your Own Can [promotion],'" recounted Jordan Sarnoff, Omaha’s assistant AD/communications and an architect of the trash can-centric popcorn promo that was featured this past weekend. “I said, ‘Just think of the exposure on it.’ And he didn't say ‘No.’”

Sarnoff certainly knows about taking advantage of opportunity in college basketball. He was previously at the Fairleigh Dickinson athletic department and helped that program take full advantage of its 2022 March Madness run.

Getting a plan in place

Omaha AD Adrian Dowell eventually gave the go-ahead for the Mavericks’ home game against Denver on Saturday. The promo had fans bring tubs of up to five gallons to be filled with popcorn at varying concession stands around Baxter Arena for just $5, with a handful of guidelines (cleanliness, of course, was paramount).

Sarnoff and the Omaha staff made quick work of getting the word out. Social media touted it, while a press release was drafted. The guerrilla marketing effort also included Sarnoff and Derrick Sheppard, associate AD/athletic ticketing, whipping Sheppard’s white Chevy Tahoe around town to each of the city’s local media outlets -- newspapers, TV, radio stations, etc. -- to drop off 22 black trash cans filled with three gallons of popcorn, along with taping the press release and team fact sheet to the bin, to drum up coverage.

“A lot of people are so conservative about how they promote,” Sarnoff said. “They do their rally towel. They do boom sticks. They do a T-shirt. … If you can embrace the quirky elements of [college sports], that’s what makes this thing special. That's what differentiates it from the professional game.”

Popcorn pays off

Coverage included an ESPN story about the promotion, while 94% of the tickets sold were bought after the promo was announced. The school also saw a 1,400% increase in ticket revenue for the Denver game from Jan. 28 through the end of walk-up sales.

The promo, too, has longer lasting impacts beyond just Saturday’s contest -- not least of which includes the Mavericks sitting atop the Summit League standings, having now won 10 of their last 11 games. Omaha Sports Properties, the local Learfield affiliate for the school, also landed a deal with Papillion Sanitation that includes logos on all trash receptacles at Baxter Arena for the rest of the year.

“I'm a big believer that if you have an identity and you can brand around something, you have to capitalize on it,” said Sarnoff. “A lot of people do that -- particularly in collegiate athletics -- around championships, special events, anniversaries, new facilities. But when you have something so unique that you can [do] in the regular season, that's what builds a brand."

• In his Forum for SBJ this week, my boss Abe Madkour was focused on talks he's having with ADs across the country and how frustrations are piling up. "I felt the angst in all my conversations. No one has the answers or knows where it’s all headed, and that’s frustrating to ADs. They want the lawsuits to stop, but all expect more to come. Title IX compliance is still unclear, and they remain unconvinced there will be strong enough punitive enforcement to end the multitude of transgressions. Add it all up, and you can see how the joy has been sapped out of being an athletic director."

• Tennessee AD Danny White told me that plans to further renovate Thompson Boling-Arena at Food City Center include the “Riverside Club” premium space in the arena’s lower bowl. The plan would give access to various F&B options and a club area for roughly 1,500 seats. White estimated the space could bring in around $7 million annually in revenue and could conservatively cost less than half that to build.

• USC is issuing an RFP seeking a third-party F&B provider for its athletic venues within the next two weeks, reports my colleague Bret McCormick. The RFP is for six facilities -- including Galen Center (basketball and volleyball), the school’s under-construction soccer/lacrosse and baseball venues and several Olympic sports venues that don’t have permanent F&B setups -- but does not include L.A. Coliseum.

• Intersport is bringing back the Women's College Basketball All-Star Game, and it will be played on ESPN2 on April 5 (during NCAA National Championship weekend) in Tampa. Herbalife and Skechers are in as sponsors.

• New X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom, who played football at Colorado, talked to the SBJ Sports Media Podcast about what Deion Sanders has meant to football in Boulder. "From revenue for small businesses here in the community that skyrocket when the CU plays, to getting Travis Hunter, the No. 1 recruit in the country, and bringing a Heisman Trophy here to Boulder, to getting us into the Big 12. If it weren't for Deion, we probably aren't in the Big 12 anymore. Colorado's probably not in the Big 12, who knows what conference that they're in."