ACC commissioner Jim Phillips hints that Power Five schools still at odds with NCAA

Many people have discussed the Power Five teams in college athletics would one day separate from the NCAA. This discussion has intensified even more over the past six months, with the recent influx of NIL money, the NCAA losing the case of Alston vs. NCAA, and a number of other factors. Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger recently tweeted a quote from ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips that shows everyone that the Power Five schools and the NCAA are still at odds and that it’s not going to change anytime soon.

When asked if the Power Five would separate from the NCAA/everyone else, Phillips said it was too premature to say that, but “We need the authority to do and act differently” than others in Division I. The key question here is how exactly do the Power Five conferences expect to be able to “do and act” differently than others in Division I college athletics, without separating from the NCAA? Would the NCAA give special rules to the Power Five, and different rules to the non-Power Five? That seems highly unlikely.

While the NCAA has long been one of the most archaic and out-of-touch organizations, there are tons of questions about a potential separation from the NCAA. If the NCAA isn’t going to be making the rules anymore, then who will? Things get incredibly clouded and murky in this process before they reach a point of clarity.

NCAA investigation into NIL deals

Perhaps the least surprising news of Wednesday was from NCAA head, Mark Emmert, that the NCAA is investigating “a number” of NIL deals, according to Ross Dellenger. Emmert said so far, schools are following guidelines. Emmert also asked for Congress’ help in legislating national guidelines on NIL deals. “We are in fact conducting investigations into a number of deals to make sure we understand them. So far, in most cases, schools are following the guidelines quite well. But we’ve got to have national clarity on what the rules and we can’t do that without Congress.”

Emmert and the governing body of college athletics have constantly been the subject of public scorn and criticism over the past few decades and that criticism has intensified in recent years. People like Jay Bilas at ESPN have made a full-blown career out of ripping the NCAA time and time again. Everyone can agree that the governing body for college athletics is out-of-date, out of touch, and needs to be drastically re-worked/changed.

The most complex question of it all is trying to figure out how exactly to change it, or will the NCAA just be eliminated entirely? Once the NIL era began, Mark Emmert seemed to waive the white flag and said it’s time to decentralize and deregulate college athletics.

The funny part about his statement is that it would mean there would be less of a need for the NCAA, which Emmert is currently the head of. He was also recently given an extension into 2025, which is even more baffling considering the current state of college athletics and the diminished power of the NCAA.

One thing is for certain. The governing body of college athletics has an incredibly uncertain and complicated future ahead. There are more questions than answers, at this point.