AP source: ACC reaches 3-year extension deal with Phillips

Published Apr. 11, 2023 10:23 p.m. ET

Associated Press

The Atlantic Coast Conference has reached a three-year extension agreement with commissioner Jim Phillips, a person with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league hasn’t publicly announced the agreement. The extension, first reported by ESPN, would keep Phillips under contract into 2029.

The league hired Phillips as the successor for the retiring John Swofford. He took over in February 2021 with a five-year contract after serving as Northwestern's athletic director and is closing his second full season in the job.

Phillips has been working to improve the ACC’s financial standing, with the league reporting record revenues yet facing a growing gap behind the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences.

The ACC has a grant-of-rights agreement binding league teams to the ACC for the duration of the current ESPN deal through the 2035-36 season, and the league has been examining options such as unequal per-school payouts of revenue.

Phillips has also served in a range of prominent roles in college sports in recent years, including the selection committee for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and the Division I Transformation Committee to modernize college sports.

Phillips' extension agreement came as the Big Ten sought a new commissioner for Kevin Warren, who is leaving to become president and chief executive officer of the NFL’s Chicago Bears in January. Phillips was a candidate when Warren was hired as commissioner in 2019.

The AP reported Tuesday night that the Big Ten is hiring former Major League Baseball executive Tony Petitti as commissioner.

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