Clemson coach Brad Brownell has been an outspoken advocate for his league all season when it comes to the perception of the quality of play in the ACC being inferior to other conferences, most notably the Big 12.
But that was all about on-the-court business and basketball in general.
It doesn’t mean that Brownell has any thoughts on the latest talk of conference realignment — even when it directly involves the school whose basketball program he’s now in his 14th season at the helm of.
Brownell was asked by a reporter at Thursday’s scheduled NCAA Tournament press conference about the latest talks swirling around the future of the ACC after Clemson attorneys filed suit against the league in open court earlier this week.
Clemson joined Florida State, which brought its own lawsuit against the league back in December, in schools that are challenging the ACC’s Grant of Rights agreement that runs through 2036.
“I’m not involved in any of that,” Brownell said Thursday. “There’s a lot of folks on our campus much smarter than me that are leading our university: Graham Neff, our athletic director; Jim Clements, our president, our board. We have great leadership at our school. They’re handling that. My head’s been down. They’ve not called me one time to ask me my opinion. Thankfully, I’m focused on New Mexico.”
When asked if he had an opinions on it, Brownell said that it was “too important” for him to be involved in.
Brownell led the Tigers (21-11) to the program’s fourth NCAA Tournament appearance under his watch this season. Clemson will face Mountain West Tournament champion New Mexico (26-9) at 3:10 p.m. EDT Friday in the West Region at Memphis’ FedExForum. The game will be televised by truTV.