With Colorado set to bolt from the Pac-12 for the Big 12 in the latest conference realignment move, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said the league is open to new membership.
In a college sports landscape that is turning into adapt-or-die for leagues not named the Big 10 or SEC, it makes sense that the ACC, which is likely the third most attractive league thanks to the likes of Florida State and Clemson, would be open to adding new members.
After all, the ACC may eventually need to give Florida State and Clemson a reason to stay and not bolt for the SEC too. The same statement is likely true for other big brands in the conference like Miami and Virginia Tech.
“The ACC has been and remains highly engaged in looking at anything that makes us a better and stronger conference,” Phillips told ESPN on Thursday. “We’ve spent considerable time on expansion to see if there is anything that fits. We have a tremendous group of institutions but if there was something that made us better, we would absolutely be open to it.”
Phillips believes the ACC’s television contract, which has been looked upon with ire by opposing conferences, puts the league firmly in third behind the SEC and Big 10 in the conference arms race. The league’s grant-of-rights deal extends into 2036, though.
“Revenue generation continues to be a priority, but this league is third right now in revenue as we go forward into wherever the next TV deals are for other conferences where, we’ve looked at it. We’ve had multiple TV consultants. Third is certainly a good position, but we want to gain and gain traction financially in order to close the gap with the SEC and Big 10.”
Could the Big 12’s renewed push for expansion put the ACC’s status as the third-highest revenue generating conference in jeopardy?
The schools in the ACC are unlikely to wait on the conference if they believe the grass is greener elsewhere. Earlier this year, it was reported that officials from half of the league, including Clemson and Florida State, held a series of meetings to discuss the grant-of-rights and whether the deal is breakable.
Phillips and conference leadership will be prudent with future moves, but may need to evaluate new membership sooner rather than later, or else the league could be at risk of losing the very members that make the ACC so attractive in the first place.
