Jim Phillips did not hold back on Monday when discussing the active lawsuits with The ACC, Clemson, and Florida State. The ACC commissioner told the media that his office deserved better.
"The fact that every member of this conference willingly signed the grant of rights and unanimously and, quite frank, eagerly agreed to our current television contract and the launch of the ACC Network," said Phillips. "The ACC, our collective membership and conference office, deserves better."
"I can state that we will fight to protect the ACC and our members for as long as it takes," Phillips said. "We are confident in this league and that it will remain a premier conference in college athletics for the long-term future. These disputes continue to be extremely damaging, disruptive and incredibly harmful to the league as well as overshadowing our student-athletes and the incredible successes taking place on the field and within the conference."
The amount of money that Clemson and Florida State would have to pay to exit before 2036 is the obvious barrier between those two schools and the exiting of the conference. While the Tigers and Seminoles both want out, Pete Thamel of ESPN reported on Monday that neither school has the intention of notifying the ACC of their exit before the 2025-2026 year.
This marked the most impactful and forceful comments by the commissioner since Florida State filed it's lawsuit in December of 2023.
Another talking point on Monday's radio row was the absence of DJ Uiagalelei and the refusal of Mike Norvell to speak to local media in the Upstate. With DJ set to lead the Seminoles in 2024, Norvell most likely wanted to avoid the typical "Clemson" questions surrounding his new QB1.
On July 9th, the Seminole signal caller put out a statement regarding his appearance at ACC Media Days. The following is the full statement from Uiagalelei. "I was honored to be invited by the conference to represent Florida State at this year's ACC Kickoff. The experience of attending that event in 2021 and 2022 is among the highlights of my time in college, and I appreciate being viewed as one of the conference's top players heading into the season. However, I feel strongly that Florida State should be represented by players who were a part of last year's ACC championship team. The players who helped put this program back on top of the ACC should have the opportunity to be recognized for their contributions. This team is more than its quarterback, and I'm excited for my teammates who will experience this fantastic event."
When Norvell was asked about his new signal caller, he had nothing but high praise. "He’s done a wonderful job,” Norvell said. “And it’s good, through rule changes now for us to be able to be on the field while they’re going on air and be able to operate through plays and at least be able to build upon that timing with the receivers and routes on air and things like that. It was good to see his growth.”
The ACC will be showcased early in 2024 as Florida State takes on Georgia Tech on August 24th in Dublin, Ireland.