Clemson, ACC feel Playoff Expansion is Not the Right Thing to Do

Atlantic Coast Conference Believes There Are More Important Things to Worry About in College Football

The Atlantic Coast Conference feels this is not the right time to expand the College Football Playoff and Clemson is right in front of this stance.

On a call with reporters Friday morning, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said the league is very much aligned in its position that now is not the right time to expand the CFP. He says ACC coaches, including Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, are “unanimous” in their belief that this is not the right time.

According to Phillips, Clemson players have also expressed concerns about adding to what is already a 15-game schedule for the two teams who ultimately play for the national championship. The Clemson players can give this perspective considering the Tigers have played a 15-game schedule four times in the CFP era and have been to the playoff six times.

Phillips said the sport needs to make sure its house in order first before moving forward on playoff expansion. The ACC Commissioner said the league is ultimately in favor of expanding the playoff, but said, “there are much large issues facing us.”

Those issues, according to tweets from the Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach, include health/safety for student-athletes, length of the season, academics and the NCAA environment.

“We don’t have a college football Playoff problem. We have a college football and collegiate athletics slash NCAA problem,” Phillips said.

Phillips believes leaders should be focused on reforming college athletics—issues such as NIL, transfer portal and more—and not just expanding the playoffs a few years early.

“Increased access to the CFP can and absolutely will be addressed as we move forward,” he said. “Not before making sure our house is in order.”

The ACC has three main concerns: 1) too many unanswered questions related to athlete health/safety/length of season; 2) overall disruption in college athletics; and 3) wants a holistic review of CFB that includes athletes' feedback.

Phillips’ news comes four days after CFP leaders failed to come to an agreement on expanding the four-team playoff field, which wrapped up year eight with Georgia beating Alabama in the national championship game this past Monday. However, they did not rule out that expansion could still take place before the end of the current 12-year contract which runs through the 2025 football season.

ESPN’s Heather Dinich reported the expansion format, along with revenue distribution, bowl game and automatic bids for Power 5 champions are other reasons for the delay. However, some have painted the ACC as the reason for why expansion of the CFP is being delayed, but Phillips says he has continued to collaborate with other conferences.

“It’s not just the ACC. There are issues everyone has,” he said. “I don’t know that this is some type of monumental moment in our process.”

Phillips said the ACC has held its position on CFP expansion since mid-November. He said the league’s stance also has nothing to do with the conference’s desire to have Notre Dame join as a full-time member.

The ACC is no longer attached to the eight-team model when it comes to CFP expansion talks and says the four-team model is the best thing it can do right now until the issues Phillips outlined above are addressed.

“We’re not opposed to expansion at some point,” Phillips said. “Right now, we don’t feel like that’s the right thing to do.”