The annual prelude to ACC football kicked off Wednesday morning at the Westin Hotel in Uptown Charlotte. New commissioner Jim Phillips began the festivities with his first “Commissioner’s Forum”. The former Northwestern athletics director took the helm of the conference in February, after being announced as John Swofford’s successor this past December.
Phillips spent his opening statement bouncing around multiple national issues, including racial justice, Covid-19, and new transfer rules. With regards to Covid-19, Phillips says his league isn’t ready to announce whether games would be forfeited if a team has too many positive tests to play. The SEC announced earlier this week that circumstance would result in a forfeit for the affected team, not a rescheduling of the game. Phillips says the ACC’s decision will come shortly.
He also used his pulpit to pitch for national legislation with regards to name, image, likeness. He stressed that we need a, “national standard.” Phillips also got the room buzzing when asked about his confidence in the current structure of the NCAA. He was quite blunt is saying that now is the time for a complete review of the NCAA from leadership on down.
You can listen to Jim Phillips comments below from #ACCKickoff
