Northwestern AD Jim Phillips To Become Next ACC Commissioner
Update: 1:09. The ACC officially announces the selection.
Jim Phillips will serve as the next ACC Commissioner.
— The ACC (@theACC) December 14, 2020
Phillips brings more than 3 decades of experience in DI athletics, a track record of tremendous achievement, and a vision for the future of intercollegiate athletics. pic.twitter.com/pqr0fsk7NJ
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The ACC has apparently found their next target for commissioner. Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports has reported that Jim Phillips, the current AD of Northwestern will be offered the position.
Sources: The ACC has targeted Northwestern AD Jim Phillips to be the next ACC commissioner. The ACC is finalizing an offer for Phillips to replace John Swofford. More details on @yahoosports: https://t.co/b0xEe0BtLe
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 14, 2020
Phillips would take over the role from outgoing commissioner John Swofford, who is retiring after 24 years of running the conference. The ACC has been using a search firm to find the best fit, and it appears that it has landed on Phillips.
Phillips is an intriguing option for a myriad of reasons. First, he has a strong resume at Northwestern including building the Ryan Fieldhouse, arguably one of the best athletic facilities in the country. He also has connections to the ACC, according to Thamel, working for Notre Dame for four seasons, and with Duke AD Kevin White.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the ACC search committee was targeting Clemson president Jim Clements, but the board was able to keep him at the school. Phillips was also a finalist for the Big Ten commissioner job, before it was given to Kevin Warren.
Thamel brings up an interesting challenge that will face Phillips if he is indeed the next AD. He talks about the ACC needing to adjust their television deal with ESPN. Referring to it as "woefully inadequate", he mentions that they will need to find a reason to get ESPN back to the bargaining table and rip up the current contract. How could they do that? Membership addition. Now that could be Notre Dame football, but they recently announced "thank you but we are staying independent". What other addition could the ACC make that would trigger ESPN to fix the contract? Stay tuned.
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