At ACC Football Media days last summer, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips had this to say about the relationship between ESPN and the ACC. This quote was via Tigernet.com.
When I look at our partner, they’ve been really good to us. You may feel that way, and sometimes I may feel that way, but they always react to me and to us when we feel like maybe we’re not getting the same kind of treatment.
One of the things we have to do is we’ve got to perform better, too. We can’t go 2-11 in postseason bowl games last year. We had 13, which was incredible, and then we played poorly. So we have to do our part. We’ll continue to work with our partners at ESPN, but it is a priority as we move forward.
In 2025, the ACC went 8-6 against the SEC, 9-5 in bowl games, and, of course, Miami made a historic run to the national title game and finished #2 in the country.
While bowl games should be viewed differently, good or ba,d than in years ago due to opt outs, they still set a narrative. Well, even Jim Phillips referred to the struggles of last year, and now this year’s success should be relatively speaking celebrated.
It’s was the best football season for the ACC since 2016 when the ACC went 9-3 in bowls, and Clemson won the national title.
Jim Phillips asked for football improvement from the ACC member schools and got it. What does he do with it?
We always return to the ugly revenue disparity between the ACC and SEC and Big 10. That’s what it is always about.
If I’m Jim Phillips, I’m on the phone with ESPN, and touting the ACC’s football success. I’m pulling up every positive television rating statistic featuring an ACC program from the 30 Million that watched Indiana and Miami to the biggest audience for a non-playoff Bowl game between BYU and Georgia Tech to the 10 Million+ week 1 games that featured Clemson, Miami, and Florida State.
The ACC has become better at promoting itself in recent years. The ACC Network in the last 18-24 months truly feels like a conference network that also promotes the member schools. That’s a start and great for exposure, but Jim Phillips has to use the ACC’s football success to get more out of ESPN.
