ACC president will fight lawsuits against Clemson, FSU ‘as long as it takes’

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner Jim Phillips said Monday the union will fight lawsuits with Clemson and Florida State “as long as it takes,” adding that “this union is bigger than any one school or schools” as the union prepares to enter the football season embroiled in courtrooms with two of its flagship programs.

In his opening remarks at the ACC tournament kickoff, Phillips strongly defended the league at a time when its long-term future has been in question. Florida State and Clemson have been embroiled in lawsuits against the ACC over the league’s withdrawal penalty and award of rights, and the league has filed countersuits against both schools.

“I can assure you that we will fight to protect the Atlantic Coast Conference and its members for as long as necessary,” Phillips said. “We are confident in this league and that it will remain a leading conference in college athletics for the foreseeable future. These disputes continue to be extremely disruptive, disruptive, and deeply damaging to the league.”

He noted that Clemson and Florida State unanimously signed the rights agreement in 2013 and again in 2016 and “frankly, we have eagerly agreed to our current television contract and the launch of ACC Network. The ACC, our collective membership and the conference office deserve better.”

Phillips also defended former commissioner John Swofford, who was added to the amended lawsuit filed by the state of Florida several months ago. Florida, which filed its lawsuit in December, alleged “chronic fiduciary mismanagement and bad faith,” alleging that Swofford insisted in talks with potential bidders for the ACC’s media rights in 2010 that Raycom Sports be included in any new deal the ACC signed.

Raycom had a long-standing partnership with ACC but was struggling financially and needed to retain a package of ACC’s media rights to survive, according to the complaint. John Swofford’s son, Chad Swofford, worked at Raycom at the time and eventually became a vice president and general manager at the company.

“John Swofford is a respected, well-respected man in our industry,” Phillips said. “He has led his conference with a steady hand for more than two decades, and he has done so through consensus and compromise.”

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t spend some time on legal issues,” Phillips added. “And I don’t think that’s going to change. We’ve proven that you have to move forward even with these kinds of distractions.”

He also said his working relationships with Clemson and Florida State had not changed, and told his staff the league would not treat any school differently.

“This shouldn’t be evil,” Phillips said. “This shouldn’t be associated with hate and all the other things that we see flowing freely in our communities. We have our position, but we’re going to do it in a respectful way.”

Those were the strongest comments he has made in the seven months since Florida filed its lawsuit. Clemson filed its lawsuit in March.

“The decisive moments deserve decisive support and decisive leadership,” Phillips said Monday when asked why he was sticking to his guns. “I don’t know that I’ve changed at all, except that I stand by everything I’ve said. You either believe in what was signed or you don’t. We’re going to do everything we can to protect the league. This league started long before me — 71 years ago — and it’s going to continue long after I’m gone.”

“What gives us conviction? I understand where we are going. This conference is bigger than any school or schools.”