It didn’t take long for ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips to be questioned about his league’s stance on college football’s expanded playoff.
Hours after College Football Playoff’s Board of Managers voted Friday to expand the field to 12 teams, Phillips joined Roddy Jones and Wes Durham during the ACC Network’s broadcast of Duke’s game against Temple. The vote to go from four to 12 playoff teams, which will happen no later than the 2026 season, was unanimous among the board, which consists of presidents and chancellors representing each Football Bowl Subdivision conference and Notre Dame.
The ACC has been opposed to expansion in the past. In fact, the ACC was one of three conferences that voted against it when the concept of a 12-team playoff was initially introduced last year. In response to the league’s dissenting vote earlier this year, Phillips said at the time that it is “not the right time” for expansion.
On Friday, Phillips was asked what changed.
“Well I would just say this: The ACC has always been for expansion. What we wanted was a 365-day calendar review for football, for the health and safety,” Phillips said during the broadcast. “Where were we going to play these games and over what period of time, and we have done that over the past six months. I will tell you I am really proud of the work that the 10 FBS conferences have done together along with Notre Dame. We have had multiple meetings on this 365-day calendar. It is moving along. It is not quite done, but it is way down the road.
“You’ve got to have finals right and reading week right. When does camp start? All of that stuff. And how does that affect you throughout the course of a long season? So I am just feeling really good about it. And I am glad that we have gotten some clarity about what we are going to do in ’26. If we can work and get some of these things wrapped up, we may be able to expand a little bit sooner.”
Phillips then praised Clemson President Jim Phillips — the ACC’s board representative — for the work he’s done on the board when the subject was broached by Durham.
“Jim Clements just a tremendous leader at Clemson,” Phillips said. “He has been our voice on that board of managers. He indicated to those other presidents where we were in January and February, and we got to work.
“He feels really good. Our board feels really good. We had a meeting this week on it, and our board is super supportive. I know the coaches are excited, and the student-athletes are excited to have more opportunities to play in the college football national championship.”