Premium: Jim Phillips Has a Chance to Show What Leadership Looks Like
The ACC commissioner faces his biggest media day moment yet. Will he confront college football’s biggest uncomfortable truth, or avoid it?
College football has turned media days into a month-long parade.
The Big 12 had its week. Now the ACC takes center stage in Charlotte. The SEC follows. Then the Big Ten. For four straight weeks, commissioners, coaches and players will stand behind podiums and tell us how bright the future is.
The problem?
The future isn’t nearly as stable as they’ll make it sound.
Last week was a reminder of that.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark had an opportunity to show leadership during his opening remarks. Instead, the conference’s biggest story largely went unaddressed. Texas Tech — arguably the league’s most powerful football program in the NIL era — is at the center of the Brandon Sorsby legal saga, with the conference itself involved in litigation. The issue hangs over the league whether anyone likes it or not.
Then came the awkward exchange with a reporter, whom Yormark asked to stand up before asking a question. It became one of the defining viral moments of the event for all the wrong reasons.
Rather than confronting the uncertainty surrounding his conference, Yormark leaned into expansion, branding and sponsorships, including the league’s new partnership with Monster Energy.
There’s nothing wrong with celebrating new revenue.
But when the room is waiting for answers about the health of your conference, talking about jersey patches feels like discussing the paint color while the foundation is shifting beneath the house.
The uncomfortable truth nobody wants to admit
Here’s the reality every commissioner knows, even if few will say it publicly:
