The ACC annual spring meetings concluded on Wednesday with this ringing endorsement from ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips: “I just think you’ve got to settle down.”
“And I think college athletics needs it to settle down, not just the ACC. I think we’ve positioned ourselves for that, and that’s a good thing,” said Phillips, noting that he sees possibly four or five years of stability for the conference.
Conference stability for the next four or five years.
That’s all you got?
Now that the ACC is no longer facing legal challenges from two of its top brands, Clemson and Florida State, four or five years of stability is a significant development.
“We shed ourselves of some of the things that were difficult to deal with,” Phillips said of the two lawsuits the ACC settled in March. “I’m proud of how we stayed steady,” added Phillips.
“The league is better with Clemson and Florida State in it,” said Virginia Tech Athletics Director Whit Babcock.
You think so, Whit?
For now, Clemson and FSU seem content.
But in, say, four or five years, when the ACC exit fee is significantly lower, then maybe those two schools will have wandering eyes again.
Hmm, four or five years.
But for now, the fans’ attention can focus on the College Football Playoff’s future look.
Yes indeed, college athletics, especially football, is seemingly always confronted with change.
The conference commissioners manage the CFP, and are aiming to expand the now 12-team field to 14 or 16 for 2026.
Growth creates challenges.
The 12-team field lasted a month; an expanded field will command a longer calendar and even more competition from the NFL.
A national championship game may coincide with the Super Bowl.
In the ratings war last season, the NFL buried the CFP.
Expect more of the same this season.
And the giant elephants in the room — the wealthy Big 10 and SEC — are pleading for a format that would grant both four automatic playoff qualifiers each year.
For the mathematically challenged, that’s half of a 16-team pool.
The ACC? Two.
Phillips doesn’t like this idea; he said as much, but with the wealth of the Big 10 and SEC, it’s tough cookies.
The ACC, or the remaining Power Four conference, the Big 12, is powerless to contest.
Call it the Big 10-SEC Invitational.
Whatever the case, now the ACC has a window of stability.
According to Phillips, it will possibly be four or five years; however, “I still live one day at a time,” Phillips joked.
For now, that may be the conference’s best approach, live to see another day.
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