Much has been discussed and written about Jim Phillips’ recent public comments that made clear his conference’s current stance on the expansion of the College Football Playoff, but the ACC commissioner isn’t the only one holding it up for the time being.
Phillips was adamant with his opinion last week during a conference call with media members that now is “not the right time” to increase the number of teams participating in the CFP from four to eight, 12 or any other alternate format. Phillips’ hesitation stems from his belief that there’s no need to rush into expansion when there are more pressing issues that need to be evaluated and addressed first.
Those include the impact on the current bowl structure as well as the transfer portal and name, image and likeness (NIL) that’s shifting the landscape of college athletics. But perhaps the biggest concern Phillips has is the health and well-being of the student-athletes, who, for those who are participating in the CFP, are already playing as many as 15 games in a season.
In a recent appearance on the Packer and Durham Show, ESPN reporter Andrea Adelson, who covers the ACC for the network, said Phillips has company in that regard.
“The player safety issue is one that absolutely must be addressed, and Jim is not alone in that room on that topic,” Adelson said. “I can tell you that I had conversations with Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren last week in Indianapolis, and he essentially echoed a lot of what Jim said, just not as forcefully as Jim did. He said, ‘Look, we have to be deliberate in our discussions, and the health and safety of the players have to come first.’
“It’s Jim and Kevin Warren who are sitting here saying, ‘Well, what about the players?’ while the other ones want to just put the pedal to the metal, full throttle ahead, and say let’s go with 12 (teams) without thinking about what do our players want and care about? And I think that’s a disservice to the players quite honestly because those players should have a seat in the room during these discussions.”
A CFP subcommittee, which included commissioners Greg Sankey (SEC), Bob Bowlsby (Big 12) and Craig Thompson (Mountain West), proposed a 12-team model over the summer, but the CFP’s contract with ESPN, its lone broadcast partner, runs through 2026. There has to be a consensus among the 10 Football Bowl Subdivision commissioners to expand the playoff before then. If not, expansion would have to wait until the end of the current television deal.
Essentially, Adelson said, it’s the ACC and Big Ten against everybody else.
“I think the Pac-12 is aligned with them in some respects, but you look at the statement their commissioner put out last week, and it essentially says we’re up for any expanded model because they know they need expansion in order to help their conference get into the playoff,” Adelson said. “The SEC and Big 12 are aligned. Greg Sankey and Bob Bowlsby, they were in the room coming up with this (12-team) format. So was Mountain West Commissioner Criag Thompson and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick.
“Kevin Warren told me, ‘Look, we’re making a decision that’s going to affect this game for years down the line. We can’t rush into it. We can’t sit here and say it has to be done right this second.’ And I asked him, ‘Do you feel a sense of urgency to get something done right now? Are you frustrated with the process?’ And he’s like, ‘I’m never frustrated, and I don’t really feel a sense of urgency right now because there are questions my conference wants answered just like there are questions the ACC wants answered.’”
Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.
Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help. #SaveNicks
