Jim Phillips supports President Donald Trump's college sports commission: 'I do feel that the time is right'

Since the NIL era began, commissioners and other NCAA leaders have taken trips to Washington, D.C. asking for federal help in the college sports landscape. President Donald Trump is also exploring a way to help, particularly through a commission co-chaired by former Alabama coach Nick Saban and Texas Tech Board of Regents chair Cody Campbell.

The commission is still in its early stages, as Saban pointed out Wednesday. But it’s an idea ACC commissioner Jim Phillips supports.

Phillips, speaking with reporters at the ACC’s spring meetings, spoke in favor of the commission. He noted the trips to the nation’s capital, as well as other attempts at settling the landscape, and said it would come at a good time amid uncertainty in the space.

“I’m for it,” Phillips said. “I believe it can help. We certainly have shared with you how many times we’ve been to D.C. and the work that we’ve done with our Congressional leaders and elected officials. We’ve made significant progress. We have not been able to get this thing into the end zone, so to speak.

“If the president feels that a commission could potentially help, I’m all for it. If you know the two individuals – I don’t know if they’re co-chairing, but both names have been talked about. … So I think it’s well-intended. I don’t know any of the specifics about who else is going to be on that commission and when they’re going to get up and running, but I do feel that the time is right, based on all the work that’s previously been done and a supportive administration that’s in there.”

Jim Phillips: ‘Though compensated, they’re students’

On3’s Pete Nakos reported Saban and Campbell would serve as co-chairs of the commission, which came about after the legendary coach met with Trump ahead of an Alabama commencement event. Others are jousting to land a spot, but it remains in the early stages.

However, Phillips said he hopes the initiative would get things closer toward federal legislation – something Saban, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and others called for in the past. He also pointed out that although athletes are receiving money, whether it be through NIL or revenue-sharing if the House v. NCAA settlement gets final approval, they’re still college students.

“I’m hopeful that can be a positive to an end result that gets us a standardized law across the country with NIL, whether it’s a skinny protection or some type of legal protection from the ongoing onslaught of legal cases against the NCAA and college sports, and that there’s a reaffirmation that these are students,” Phillips said. “Though compensated, they’re students.”