ACC Commissioner Maintains Desire To Preserve Union Despite FSU, Clemson Lawsuits

The Commssioner has a tough, and unlikely, challenge ahead of him.

Oct 25, 2023; Charlotte, NC, USA; ACC commissioner Jim Phillips speaks to the media during the ACC Tipoff at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner Jim Phillips has a Herculean task in front of him: He must keep the union together. While the stakes were much higher for President Lincoln during the Civil War or George Washington during the infancy of the United States, Phillips might need to study our Founding Fathers and how they navigated the internal pressures that almost led to the dissolution of their respective organizations. With Florida State and Clemson suing the ACC, the conference is on the ropes, awaiting the final bell, in hopes of a favorable decision from the judge(s).

READ MORE: Former FSU Football Defender And Son Of Seminole Legend Transfers Out Of Tallahassee

Likening Florida State and Clemson to the Confederacy might be harsh, but you cannot deny the rebellious streak that has come over them in the last six months. Not only have these public institutions challenged the ACC for their own gain, but they’ve also threatened the enforceability of the league's media rights deal, possibly affecting all 18 members of the conference.

"The lawsuits are damaging to the league," Phillips said at the Associated Press Sports Editors Summer Conference recently. "It's harmful to the league. This is a beautiful league that's been around for a long time. It's meant a lot to this part of the country and college sports. We're going to fight. I'm going to fight, and the courts will ultimately decide. We believe that everybody knows what was in that contract back then, and it was celebrated."

Furthermore, Commissioner Phillips has stated that FSU and Clemson will not be treated any differently despite the public, nasty divorce proceedings.

"We're going to fight it with every effort that we can," Phillips said. "The Grant of Rights has been agreed upon twice and deserves to be executed. We have taken that position. That being said, the treatment of the conference office with those two schools hasn't changed at all."

However, despite Phillips’ attempt to extend some southern (but still rather awkward) hospitality, part of his statement to the Associated Press conference has been rebutted by Florida State as he defended the ACC’s decision to bring in schools that do not necessarily provide a substantial amount of revenue.

“We feel good," Phillips said. 'We're at 18. The Big Ten is at 18. The SEC and Big 12 are at 16. Mass matters; it just does in today's world. It may not have mattered 25 years ago, but quantity and quality matter. That's what we feel like we've done. We are very happy with our current schools and feel like we've strengthened the ACC. We went from a regional-based conference affiliation to a more nationally-based one. Cal, Stanford and SMU fit the ACC incredibly well."

In May, Florida State directly countered the notion that the Cal, Stanford, and SMU expansion was good for the league.

“Over the past decade, the missions of the FSU Board and the ACC have diverged … While the FSU board was achieving its missions, the ACC was abandoning its. Today’s ACC votes for (a) a revenue-sharing arrangements at the College Football Playoff (‘CFP’) Committee that subordinate its members and render the ACC second class, and (b) an ill-advised and ill-timed expansion that hopelessly dilutes the ACC’s football media value. This leaves FSU Board a stark choice: either abandon its hard-won achievements or withdraw; in reality, no choice at all.”

This is a developing story.

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READ MORE: FSU Football Achieves Top-10 Spot in ESPN's Future Power Rankings

Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State University throughout its ongoing legal battle with the ACC.

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