Henry on Clemson haters: ‘We definitely hear it’

Based on what many in the media had to say about the Clemson football program in 2021, you would think the Tigers had a winless season. There was a sense of doom and gloom and a lot of outside negativity surrounding Clemson over the course of last …

Based on what many in the media had to say about the Clemson football program in 2021, you would think the Tigers had a winless season.

There was a sense of doom and gloom and a lot of outside negativity surrounding Clemson over the course of last season despite the fact Dabo Swinney’s team ended up reaching the 10-win plateau for a school-record 11th consecutive season.

During an appearance on ACC Network at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte on Wednesday, Clemson fifth-year senior defensive end K.J. Henry was asked how it felt to hear plenty of people knock the Tigers last season and say “the dynasty is over” after they weren’t able to win the ACC Championship and make it to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2014.

“Yeah, we were helping Coach pack up his bags, he about got fired. Boring 10-win season last year,” Henry joked.

“But nah, it showed the standard that we have at Clemson, and we love that. We love that that is a down year for us, number one, and that’s the perspective that we have to look into.”

Henry was asked if the Tigers hear the haters and listen to the doubters.

“We definitely hear it,” he said. “Whether we let it come in home and whether we actually care about it is a whole ‘nother story. We definitely hear it. We got TVs, we got radios, what not. … We know what’s being said, we know who’s saying what, and our time will come. There’s no doubt about it, and I think we’ll see a lot of good things this season.”

What was the biggest learning lesson that Henry and Clemson took away from what was perceived as a “down” year for the program in 2021?

“I think for us, we were reminded how to appreciate winning,” said Henry, who had a career year in 2021 and finished the season credited with 28 tackles (6.5 for loss), 4.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery over 13 games (four starts).

“That’s something that we haven’t been told a lot about. We’ve had a lot of great teams up to this point, and not everybody understands that the ACC Championships, we earn those. We play good teams. We had to prepare and we had to take those wins, and now in the year where we don’t make it to that point, it’s the end of the world and now it’s no fluke no more. But we understood that we prepare for those moments, and we were just reminded. It’s that simple. And we know now going into this year, once again, that we’re going to have to prepare every week and do the best we can in order to win every game.”

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Uiagalelei talks ‘difficult’ 2021 season, weight loss, those doubting him, Tigers

D.J. Uiagalelei admits that last season was a difficult one for him, for sure. The Clemson quarterback entered the 2021 campaign with high expectations, coming off his stellar freshman debut in 2020 when he when he threw for 781 yards and four …

D.J. Uiagalelei admits that last season was a difficult one for him, for sure.

The Clemson quarterback entered the 2021 campaign with high expectations, coming off his stellar freshman debut in 2020 when he when he threw for 781 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in two starts vs. Boston College and Notre Dame.

But the former five-star prospect struggled in his first full season as the Tigers’ starter last year while completing only 55.6 percent of his passes with more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (nine).

While Uiagalelei had his moments last year, it wasn’t the year many expected from him overall, and certainly with Uiagalelei’s high expectations, not what he expected for himself.

“It was definitely difficult,” Uiagalelei said, reflecting on last season in an appearance on ACC Network at the 2022 ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte. “Just knowing the player who I am… You just see different throws that you wish you had back, different decisions you wish you had back, and just expectations for myself. I hold myself to a high standard. I know the game I want to play at. And it’s just sometimes like dang, I wish I could have that back, wish I played a little bit better.”

This offseason, as he dialed in on his upcoming junior season with an eye on bouncing back from a disappointing 2021 campaign, Uiagalelei said for him, “the main thing was just get back into work.”

“For me, I didn’t want to take any days off after the season, just get straight back into work, and I feel like that’s the biggest thing, man,” he said. “Whatever you put in is whatever you’re going to get out. So for me, I want to be the hardest worker on the field, I want to be able to be there for my teammates and just put in the work, man. I feel like as long as you put in that work, you’re going to get whatever you get out.”

Uiagalelei has also made an effort to take better care of his body since last season.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said Tuesday that Uiagalelei “was in good shape last year and physically not in a bad spot, but he was good and now he’s become elite from a nutritional standpoint and a body composition standpoint,” adding that he’s stronger and faster now.

Uiagalelei estimated that he has dropped about 20-25 pounds.

“I changed my eating habit, worked out a little bit more, did a little more cardio,” Uiagalelei said. “Just trying to take my game to the next level. I feel like that was a big step for me, about losing a little bit more weight, to be a little bit more mobile, a little bit more agile. So, I think that was a big thing for me.”

Going into this season, some are questioning Uiagalelei’s ability and questioning the Tigers following the 2021 season that saw their streak of consecutive ACC titles and CFP appearances come to an end at six straight, though Clemson still managed to win at least 10 games for a school-record 11th year in a row.

Uiagalelei was asked how that negativity from his doubters and Clemson’s doubters, when he hears it, fuels him if it all.

“Coach Swinney said a great thing, man — you can add that to the fire, but that can’t be your fire,” Uiagalelei said. “He talked about it in a team meeting, that your fire has got to come from within yourself – as a person, got to come within what your morals are, like what do you want to come out of it? You can’t listen to that outside noise too much. You can add that to your fire, but the main stuff has got to come within. You’ve got to come out, like I want to get this done, I want to be able to get this done throughout the season. You just can’t listen to it too much.”

5 questions Clemson is likely to field during preseason media circuit

Talking season is here. Clemson’s football season will get its unofficial official start this week with the program set to hit the preseason media circuit. First, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and his assistant coaches will meet with local reporters …

Talking season is here.

Clemson’s football season will get its unofficial official start this week with the program set to hit the preseason media circuit. First, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and his assistant coaches will meet with local reporters Tuesday as part of the team’s annual media outing. The Tigers’ contingent will then head to Charlotte on Wednesday for the ACC Football Kickoff.

Like every year, the possibility for questions that Swinney, his assistants and his players will field is wide-ranging. Here are five they will almost certainly be asked over the next few days.

Where does Clemson fit in conference realignment?

Swinney has been made available to the media just once since news broke last month of Southern Cal and UCLA’s pending departure for the Big Ten, and he was mum with his opinion on conference realignment.

But more questions pertaining to the subject figure to come in waves this week for Swinney and his players given the direction of super conferences in which the sport is almost certainly headed. The Los Angeles schools’ move was just the latest domino to fall, coming a year after Texas and Oklahoma announced they will soon bolt the Big 12 for the SEC.

Where does the ACC and its top football brand at the moment fit into the equation? The grant of rights agreement is a major factor in holding the conference together for the time being, but the future of the league and its members is a hot topic of conversation.

What about college football’s changing landscape as a whole?

Realignment isn’t the only alteration happening to the sport. Name, image and likeness opportunities are heating up for student-athletes, and the transfer portal has put the recruiting machine into overdrive.

How are coaches and players managing it all? And what will college athletics look like in the future?

Swinney and some of the players offered some thoughts on a lot of those topics during the spring. And don’t forget about the ACC’s new scheduling model that will bid adieu to the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions beginning in 2023. All of it is certain to come up again this week.

What has the transition been like with all of the staff turnover?

Swinney has largely been able to keep his coaching staff intact during his 14-year run with the Tigers, but this offseason saw the most turnover of his tenure. Coordinators Brent Venables (Oklahoma) and Tony Elliott (Virginia) left for their first head coaching jobs, defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Todd Bates followed Venables to OU, and veteran offensive line coach Robby Caldwell retired.

And that doesn’t count the off-field attrition (Ted Roof and external affairs director Thad Turnipseed, to name a couple). Swinney and players talked during the spring about the majority of the corresponding moves, including the promotion of Wesley Goodwin and Brandon Streeter to coordinator roles, but national reporters will also descend on Charlotte this week, giving many of them their first opportunity to inquire about the changes since they happened seven months ago.

How long will D.J. Uiagalelei’s leash be?

Swinney may not be asked this specific question verbatim, but rest assured that some version of it will be inquired about this week.

With Uiagalelei completing just 55% of his passes with more interceptions than touchdown passes, quarterback play was the primary bugaboo for the Tigers a season ago. Swinney made it clear after the spring that Uiagalelei is entrenched as the starter heading into fall camp, but, again, reporters who don’t cover Clemson on a regular basis will be getting a chance to ask about the quarterback situation for the first time since the end of last season.

There’s also another blue-chip signee at the position, Cade Klubnik, waiting in the wings if Uiagalelei continues to struggle. What is the Tigers’ plan if any to incorporate the highly touted freshman’s skill set early on? Swinney spoke on that a couple of months ago.

Was last season an aberration?

It speaks to the kind of sustained success Clemson has enjoyed under Swinney when an 11th consecutive 10-win season is considered a down year, but the Tigers are a victim of their own success in this regard.

For the first time since 2015, Clemson is coming off a season in which it didn’t appear in the College Football Playoff or the ACC championship game. Will the Tigers get back to that elite status this fall or are there long-term chinks in their armor?

Clemson figures to once again be the favorite in the ACC considering the talent and experience that’s still on the roster, but some of the concerns, particularly the quarterback play, are valid. Inquiring minds will be interested in hearing what Swinney and his players have to say about it.

Clemson’s ACC Football Kickoff attendees revealed

The attendees for next week’s ACC Football Kickoff have been announced. Three players will accompany head coach Dabo Swinney to represent Clemson. Defensive end K.J. Henry, offensive lineman Jordan McFadden and quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei will …

The attendees for next week’s ACC Football Kickoff have been announced. Three players will accompany head coach Dabo Swinney to represent Clemson.

Defensive end K.J. Henry, offensive lineman Jordan McFadden and quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei will comprise the Tigers’ player contingency at the league’s annual preseason media days, which will begin July 20. The event will be held at The Westin Charlotte.

Clemson will take its turn in front of the microphones with the rest of the Atlantic Division teams then. The event will wrap up with the Coastal Division teams July 21.

The ACC Network will televise the event beginning at 9 a.m. each day.

Here’s a complete list of the event attendees:

Boston College

Head Coach Jeff Hafley

Josh DeBerry, DB, Grosse Point Park, Michigan

Zay Flowers, WR, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Phil Jurkovec, QB, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Clemson

Head Coach Dabo Swinney

K.J. Henry, DE, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Jordan McFadden, OT, Spartanburg, South Carolina

DJ Uiagalelei, QB, Inland Empire, California

Duke

Head Coach Mike Elko

DeWayne Carter, DT, Pickerington, Ohio

Shaka Heyward, LB, Dacula, Georgia

Jacob Monk, OL, Clayton, North Carolina

Florida State

Head Coach Mike Norvell

Fabien Lovett, DT, Vicksburg, Mississippi

Jammie Robinson, DB, Cordele, Georgia

Jordan Travis, QB, West Palm Beach, Florida

Georgia Tech

Head Coach Geoff Collins

Dylan Leonard, TE, Milton, Georgia

Dontae Smith, RB, Spring Hill, Tennessee

Zamari Walton, DB, Melbourne, Florida

Louisville

Head Coach Scott Satterfield

Yasir Abdullah, LB, Miramar, Florida

Caleb Chandler, OG, Jefferson, Georgia

Malik Cunningham, QB, Montgomery, Alabama

Miami

Head Coach Mario Cristobal

Jahfari Harvey, DE, Port St. Lucie, Florida

Will Mallory, TE, Jacksonville, Florida

Tyler Van Dyke, QB, Glastonbury, Connecticut

North Carolina

Head Coach Mack Brown

British Brooks, RB, Gastonia, North Carolina

Josh Downs, WR, Suwanee, Georgia

Ray Vohasek, DT, McHenry, Illinois

NC State

Head Coach Dave Doeren

Devin Leary, QB, Sicklerville, New Jersey

Isaiah Moore, LB, Chester, Virginia

Drake Thomas, LB, Wake Forest, North Carolina

Pitt

Head Coach Pat Narduzzi

Deslin Alexandre, DL, Pompano Beach, Florida

SirVocea Dennis, LB, Syracuse, New York

Carter Warren, OT, Paterson, New Jersey

Syracuse

Head Coach Dino Babers

Matthew Bergeron, OL, Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada

Mikel Jones, LB, Miami, Florida

Garrett Shrader, QB, Charlotte, North Carolina

Virginia

Head Coach Tony Elliott

Brennan Armstrong, QB, Shelby, Ohio

Nick Jackson, LB, Atlanta, Georgia

Keytaon Thompson, FBP, New Orleans, Louisiana

Virginia Tech

Head Coach Brent Pry

Silas Dzansi, OL, Woodbridge, Virginia

Dax Hollifield, LB, Shelby, North Carolina

Kaleb Smith, WR, Bumpass, Virginia

Wake Forest

Head Coach Dave Clawson

Rondell Bothroyd, DL, Manchester, Connecticut

Sam Hartman, QB, Charlotte, North Carolina

Michael Jurgens, OL, Damascus, Maryland

ACC coaches agree, 85-scholarship limit archaic for today’s college football

Last year, the NCAA awarded an extra year of eligibility to all student-athletes who played fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And though the NCAA is not counting that against football teams’ 85-scholarship limit this year, it will, beginning …

That is just one issue for head football coaches across the country when it comes to managing their rosters, especially when you throw in the transfer portal, the one-year transfer rule and the freedom players have to opt out at any point in the season.

Since 1992, the NCAA has limited all Division I football teams to 85 scholarships. But Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson believes that is an archaic rule that needs to be updated.

“What did a college football season look like in 1992? It was 10 or 11 regular-season games, and maybe if you were lucky a bowl game,” Clawson said at the ACC Football Kickoff this past Thursday in Charlotte. “So, the maximum amount of games you were playing back then, when they put the 85-rule in, is I believe 12 games. There weren’t playoffs. There weren’t conference championship games.

“To constantly be adding games, conference championships, rounds of playoffs, and then the roster pressure you’re now getting from a one-time transfer rule, the roster pressure from people who opt out, and they’re not just opting out for bowl games, they’re opting out in October if they don’t have the role they want or their agents are telling them in November, ‘Hey, you don’t need to play anymore, you’re already a first-round pick.’ At a certain point you just can’t keep burning it at both ends.”

That is why the ACC football coaches sent a proposal to the NCAA asking for five more scholarships to alleviate some of the headaches that have come with the optouts, transfer portal, one-year transfer rule and now the extra year of eligibility because of COVID.

“If we’re going to (expand the playoff), and it looks like there’s a good chance it’s going to happen, add a tournament, add games, at a certain point we have to go back and look at the rosters,” Clawson said. “We do not have the ability to sign guys off the waiver wire of another team’s practice squad when we get hurt at a position with injuries or opt-outs in November.

“I really think if this is good for college football, the powers that be deem that we should add games, make it a tournament, expand the playoffs, at a certain point you have to do things to help coaches manage the roster to make it safer for players.”

And that is the point. Coaches having the ability to manage their rosters freely, helps the players more than anything and limits the risk of injury.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney points out over the next three years, coaches are going to have to figure out a way to manage their rosters if last year’s freshmen, sophomores and juniors want to stay the extra year the NCAA gave them due to the pandemic.

“It is a real problem for coaches moving forward from a roster management standpoint,” he said. “We are fortunate this year. We only have eleven seniors and I have had conversations with all of those guys, so we are able to project and do what we need to do for this class of 2022. The problem for me is the class of ’23.

“For some schools, the class of ’22 is a real problem. They may have a lot of seniors and a lot those guys might want to come back. So, how do you go and recruit? You don’t know how many scholarships you have. It is hard to ask a kid right now, ‘In two years, are you going to want that COVID year?’ These guys are just trying to be great today. So, it is very complicated and frustrating.”

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ACC’s new commissioner feels frustrations of his coaches

Few have described what life is like for student-athletes in the transfer portal better than new ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips. “I liken it to a game of musical chairs,” he said last Wednesday at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte. “That is what …

Few have described what life is like for student-athletes in the transfer portal better than new ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips.

“I liken it to a game of musical chairs,” he said last Wednesday at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte. “That is what worries me is when the music stops and there are not enough chairs. There are no seats. There are not enough scholarships for those in the transfer portal.”

And that is exactly what is going on. When the music stops, thousands of student-athletes are left stuck in the transfer portal without a new school.

Since last August, when the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility for all student-athletes that play fall sports due to the pandemic, more than 2,500 FBS players—hundreds from the ACC—entered the transfer portal, and not all of them have found a new home.

Men’s basketball is even worse. Thanks to the new one-year transfer rule, which effects football, men’s and women’s basketball and baseball, the transfer portal was flooded after the 2020-’21 basketball season was completed.

As of June 27, the NCAA had 1,788 Division I men’s basketball players in the transfer portal. Division I, Division II and Division III combined have 2,867 men’s basketball players in the portal. The Clemson Insider was told the majority of these players will not sign with anyone and will lose their ability to attend college on a basketball scholarship.

“We are working through it, as a league,” Phillips said. “Understanding what it looks like in the different sports. As mentioned, in the 27 sports, there is a different flow into the transfer experience. Some of our sports that are really at a higher percentage of student-athletes transferring than at some other Olympic sport.”

Phillips said he and the conference support the student-athletes freedom of movement, but he understands, as a former coach himself, the frustration of the coaches in the league who are having to recruit around the chaos that has become the transfer portal.

At the ACC’s spring meetings in May, it was one of the hot topics brought to the table by not only the men’s basketball coaches, but by the women’s coaches and the football coaches as well.

“I know, as a former coach very early in my career, how difficult that can be when it comes to rosters, when it comes to roster management, when it comes to maybe life lessons when things get tough. You just can’t bounce out and go somewhere else,” the Commissioner said. “I don’t think we have enough data yet to declare one way or another how we help this thing. But I think it goes back to recruiting and doing the very best job that we can to identify the prospects that fit our institutions.

“So, there is more work to come on that, and again, I feel the coaches’ frustration. It is real. But in the end, it was the right thing to do for our student-athletes.”

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Swinney believes Oklahoma and Texas to SEC is just the beginning

Dabo Swinney thinks the news that Oklahoma and Texas are moving to the SEC is just the beginning in what he believes will be a restructuring of major college football in the next 10 years. The Clemson head coach did admit at the ACC Football Kickoff …

Dabo Swinney thinks the news that Oklahoma and Texas are moving to the SEC is just the beginning in what he believes will be a restructuring of major college football in the next 10 years.

The Clemson head coach did admit at the ACC Football Kickoff on Thursday he was surprised to hear the news about Oklahoma and Texas possibly leaving the Big 12 to join the SEC. Reports surfaced on Friday that Oklahoma and Texas could be telling the Big 12 they are leaving the conference to join the SEC as early as next week.

However, Swinney did not give it much thought at the time when he heard the news on Wednesday. However, he was not shy about giving his opinion on the subject and what the future holds in college football.

“I would say you will hear a lot of conversation over the next five to seven years. I would imagine there will be some type of restructuring in college football over the next decade,” Swinney said. “I don’t have any intel, that is just my gut instinct, but we will see.”

You can understand why Swinney feels this way. Last month, the College Football Playoff working group recommended the CFP expand from a four-team playoff to a 12-team playoff. Then the NCAA changed its bylaws to allow student-athletes to receive compensation for their name, image and likeness on July 1.

Earlier this month, NCAA President Mark Emmert also spoke on how the NCAA might look into redefining its role on how it regulates collegiate athletics. And, this past Wednesday, new ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said this is the right time to have a complete holistic review of the NCAA’s leadership and structure.

“There have been so many things that have happened in our space here that the timing is right,” Phillips said. “There are no pre-determined outcomes. Let’s just take a look.”

Phillips wants to take a look at the government structure. Is it the right one? Does one size fit all? Is the NCAA council working? Is that the right structure?

“Then championships. We have had a couple of issues this year with championships,” Phillips said. “It is the thing our student-athletes love to do, so an assessment there. Championships and then enforcements.”

The ACC’s new commissioner believes the NCAA has to look at timeliness and fairness when it hands down punishments and also make sure they are not punishing the wrong coaches and student-athletes.

Phillip said he is not trying to dump everything on what is going on Indianapolis because he thinks the NCAA does a lot of great things for student-athletes and the schools.

“I think we all have our fingers on the reasonability we have as leaders, whether it is commissioners, athletic directors or presidents,” he said. “So, this would be a great time. The President of the NCAA has already called for it, kind of a recalibration of the NCAA. I think we should take him up on that opportunity and let’s work collaboratively with the NCAA, with our conferences, with our presidents, athletic directors and such and let’s spend the next eight to twelve months figuring this thing out because more changes are coming.”

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Swinney believes Oklahoma and Texas to SEC is just the beginning

Dabo Swinney thinks the news that Oklahoma and Texas are moving to the SEC is just the beginning in what he believes will be a restructuring of major college football in the next 10 years.

“There have been so many things that have happened in our space here that the timing is right,” Phillips said. “There are no pre-determined outcomes. Let’s just take a look.”

Phillips wants to take a look at the government structure. Is it the right one? Does one size fit all? Is the NCAA council working? Is that the right structure?

The ACC’s new commissioner believes the NCAA has to look at timeliness and fairness when it hands down punishments and also make sure they are not punishing the wrong coaches and student-athletes.

Phillip said he is not trying to dump everything on what is going on Indianapolis because he thinks the NCAA does a lot of great things for student-athletes and the schools.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

ACC uncertain on where it stands on 12-team CFP expansion

CHARLOTTE – Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and North Carolina’s Mack Brown have both been outspoken on their and their players’ feelings about an expanded College Football Playoff. Swinney said at his annual gathering with the local Clemson media on Tuesday …

CHARLOTTE — Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and North Carolina’s Mack Brown have both been outspoken on their and their players’ feelings about an expanded College Football Playoff.

Swinney said at his annual gathering with the local Clemson media on Tuesday he was not in favor of expanding the playoffs from four teams to 12, saying the main objective can be achieved with four teams just as much as 12. He also stated most of his players were against expanding the CFP.

Brown brought up similar concerns from his players earlier this month.

During his Commissioners Forum, as part of the 2021 ACC Football Kickoff Wednesday from the Westin in Uptown Charlotte, new ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said there is a concern on his part, as well, and he has heard the issues brought up by the ACC’s two most prominent head coaches.

“I don’t want anybody to foreclose either good or bad on the playoff,” he said. “We are still learning about the playoff and the football coaches today are going to get to see the CFP presentation. And so, they may feel exactly the same way and I respect so much Mack and Dabo. They are two of our tremendous coaches. They have incredible experience.”

On June 22, the CFP board authorized the management committee to begin a summer review phase that will engage other important voices about expanding the playoff from four teams to 12. This will include many people on campuses, such as student-athletes, athletics directors, faculty athletics representatives, coaches, and university presidents and chancellors.

The board will reconvene in September to discuss what they learned in this phase of the expansion process.

“I had a Wednesday noon call (after the announcement) with our head football coaches and I asked them to do a few things,” Phillips said. “Get together and talk about it and discuss how they feel about it … to your point about too many games, length of the season, health and safety issues. What does it do to the regular season? All of those things.”

These are things Clemson knows all too well. The Tigers have played either 14 or 15 games in each of the last six seasons, as they made their run as one of college football’s elite teams.

Clemson is the only team to play in six straight CFPs.

“As importantly, we talk to the student-athletes and get a feel and a read. And you are starting to see that,” Phillips said. “I saw Coach Swinney’s press statements yesterday and I have seen Coach Brown’s. I have talked to both of them pretty regularly and I will see them here later today and tomorrow.

“So, those are real concerns, but I think we have to be open-minded to it and it does not mean we are going to support (the CFP expansion). But to answer your question on if it will influence us? It will certainly influence us. It will influence President [Jim] Clements, who ultimately has one of the votes. I want to socialize this process and I want us to socialize the proposal. I want it to be transparent. I want us to be able to hear from those constituent groups—student-athletes and coaches—and then try to make an educated (decision), have an educated position for our conference.”

Phillips does not want everyone to get too wrapped up in all the challenges because he says there are some great things that come with expanding the playoff, as well.

“There are some terrific things about access and opportunity. The sport has access to three percent of the schools playing football,” he said. “Most of our other sports are around twenty percent and above. Men’s basketball is at nineteen percent, but baseball, soccer and others are there.

“And so, there is debate to this thing, which is great. We need that, so I look forward by September, as we get ready to have another CFP meeting, having the ACC have a position on where we stand.”

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