Paul Finebaum: ACC is 'diminished conference,' questions Jim Phillips' leadership

The landscape of collegiate athletics has been greatly altered over the past year, and some schools and conferences are fighting just to avoid being left behind. While some have questioned whether or not the Power Five could break away from the NCAA, that will not be the case. Now, with the way things currently look, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum has some serious questions about the current and future state of the ACC.

Finebaum recently joined McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, where he went in depth on his concerns with the ACC and where the conference stands when put up against the Big Ten and SEC.

“I put very little weight into any of it because the ACC has become such a diminished conference,” Finebaum said. “I say that because it wasn’t long ago when they were nipping, pretty far back, but they were still nipping at the heels of the SEC and the Big Ten, especially because of Clemson. But now, it’s been marginalized.

“It’s been marginalized for a lot of reasons, but the biggest is that their television contract, which has a long way to go, I think another ten years before it opens back up again, is about to become significantly behind everyone else that matters which is the Big Ten and the SEC. And I say that because the SEC’s deal is done, everybody knows that. The Big Ten is about to sign a mega, multi-billion dollar deal. There was a time where everybody was reasonably close, but the ACC is going to be so far behind that it’s going to affect them.”

Finebaum questions ACC commissioner Jim Phillips

When explaining his reasons for concern regarding the ACC, Finebaum pointed at the conference’s commissioner, Jim Phillips. Finebaum is concerned about the ACC not only right now, but as a whole when looking into future years as well.

“I also question the leadership of the ACC and Jim Phillips,” said Finebaum. “I’m surprised by this because he was really a great athletic director at Northwestern. But he has led the ACC down a very dark and dangerous road by getting in bed with the Big Ten and the Pac-12 on this alliance. Now I know the question had to do with them talking about divisions and other things, but that’s the state of college athletics.

“Really whatever the ACC says is great, but it’s really more their position in the sphere of college athletics that concerns me the most.”