6:00 p.m. -- Here are some more assorted notable quotes from today's ACC Coastal media availability.
Q. I want to talk about your approach to the NIL deal you signed, the things your school has going on with NIL, why you're excited about it, the advantages you'll get.
Miami DB Bubba Bolden: The biggest thing with the NIL, it's a great opportunity for every college athlete around the country. One thing with us, we've been talking about the NIL since the beginning of the spring. Coach Diaz did a good job of bringing in people just to inform us on how to do it, how to go about it.
The same thing like I said before: we keep the main thing the main thing, and that's football. The deals come. You do it when you can do it. My main focus personally is football.
I'm excited for all the deals, for everyone to get money. But personally, I keep the main thing the main thing.
Q. Assessing your five seasons at Virginia Tech, some change now as you step forward here, how would you assess that as you step into your sixth?
Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente: Well, it's certainly been interesting. Each job and deal is different and unique. After our first two years, I had a very honest, really good conversation with Whit, our athletic director, talked to him. We won 19 games in two years. I said, Whit, you didn't bring me here for these past two years, you brought me here for what we're about to go through. We were not in good shape. We were in the process of building facilities. We had some issues on our roster that were going to take time to get through. We've now completed many of those facilities. We're now adding, expanding our support staff for our players and recruiting. Now starting to get into having an older team.
I really felt great a year ago about exactly where we were and what we were doing and the status of our football team, a variety of factors have affected that. But I still feel the same way. I'm really excited to see this football team play and kick this season off.
Q. Speaking about the NIL stuff, have you given any thought to the dynamic in the locker room of if some guys are earning money, other guys aren't, how that might manifest itself?
Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente: Absolutely I've given thought to it. It's a dangerous part of it. There's all sorts of scenarios. You all can imagine what they are, from guys earning money that aren't playing or guys that "I should be playing and I'm not." All sorts of -- the litany of that.
It's difficult. It's difficult to be a coach now. It's more difficult than it was 10 years ago. This is another hurdle that we've got to find a way to continue to address, to help keep guys together and understand how it actually works.
So, yeah, it's a huge piece of it.
Q. You went down to Tallahassee last year and lost a game a lot of people, including yourself, didn't expect to. Given your ties to Florida State and your quarterback during the recruiting process, is that a game you have potentially circled as special, or is every game even-keeled as you go into the season?
North Carolina head coach Mack Brown: The first question I got today is, You guys are getting so much hype, everybody expects you to win every game, how can you talk about one in the middle when you have to go to Virginia Tech in the opener?
We basically have a three-game season. That's what I've told the players. I'll start talking to you more national after three games, if you haven't lost a game. But let's quit talking. We've gotten hype. We've been hugged. We've had sugar thrown all over us. We're all enjoying it, we like it.
Let's clean it off, and let's get back to facts. We were fifth in the country when we went to Florida State, about 25th when we were leaving. That took about three hours to drop that far.
There were two conferences that weren't playing when we were fifth in the country. I was trying to explain to them, You're not the fifth best team in the country. I tell them you're not the fifth best team in the country, but we got to play. Nobody is good enough anymore to go out there and stand around.
We have some great older players that are leaders, three of them here today, then we've got a bunch of young guys. The young guys have to grow up. We've been circled by everybody in this league.
In fact, I can tell even in recruiting people are being really critical and are cutting us in recruiting. I'm so proud of that. That didn't happen the first year. Nobody cared. So now that we're getting a little better, I'm so excited people are critical of us. So that's a good thing.
But, yes, we'd like to beat Florida State. That's way down that list of issues before we get to it.
Q. Obviously the NIL stuff. How are you approaching it? You're one of the more visible players in the ACC.
North Carolina QB Sam Howell: Yeah, definitely, it's definitely something I thought a lot about. I hired a marketing team, so we have a marketing team working on my behalf. They've done a good job kind of lifting the weight off my shoulders. The school has been very supportive.
I think the main thing for me is I want to keep the main thing the main thing, which is winning football games. You want to take advantage of the opportunity you have. I've done some things, partnered with a charity called Table in Chapel Hill. We deliver meals to underprivileged kids come Chapel Hill. That's my first partnership.
I'm looking for more opportunities, things where I can involve my teammates, give them some opportunities as well. I think there's a good place for it. I just want to make sure as a team we keep the main thing the main thing, and that's winning football games.
Q. Name, image and likeness, something that every coach has to really think about, break down to the best of your ability. There's a lot of questions. Doesn't seem like there's a lot of answers at the moment. How do you assess it?
Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi: Number one, it's a great opportunity for our kids. I think as coaches, you look at your children back at home, your children on campus. I look at all our players. The opportunities they have. I want them to be selective, I want them to do the right opportunities. You want to make sure they're organized in what they do.
The opportunities that our kids are getting. It gives some young guys an opportunity to look up at a Kenny Pickett or a Deslin Alexandre and say, I want to be like him. Look what he got. How do I get where Kenny is?
Everybody wants to be in Kenny shoes. It's not a given, he's earned everything he's got. Kenny, when he decided to come back, he didn't come back thinking that this name, image and likeness was going to be something. But he's able to take part in it. It's really going to build him for the future, it's going to build our kids for the future.
I think it's a great opportunity for our young men to build their image. We have a life skills program on campus. Penny Semaia runs it. Since the first day I arrived on campus, he talked about branding, branding. We've been branding for a long time at Pittsburgh. He talks about the first impression, what do people think of you when they step up on this podium today. Now it's an opportunity for our kids to earn some money, earn a meal, I don't care what it is. Not to have to go to a restaurant and say, You can't give me that appetizer.
It's a great opportunity. There's got to be some restrictions, some lids put on this thing. I think eventually we'll get to that. It's disappointing there isn't already some, like, legislation. I think the commissioner talked about it this morning, I won't beat a dead horse with that. I think there have to be some constraints on this thing or it can get out of control. I think you want to make everything equal. I think the quality there is going to be important.
Q. NIL, what your approach is, how you're guiding your players through that process?
Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins: Absolutely. I appreciate it. Let me first say this is the first picture in the last three days that I'm the tallest one on the picture. So I appreciate the ACC doing that so I'm not clowned on social media about all my guys being so much taller than me. Anyway, I digress (smiling).
One of the first things is the mechanism that we have in place to educate our guys, put them in a really good position. We started a 404 Academy. We've had educational sessions in person, via Zoom, to educate them in every way that they can to market themselves, brand themselves, position themselves in this space to maximize all the opportunities. I think those mechanisms are very important.
The thing that I think is the most important, though, is our commitment as an organization to support our guys, be fully invested in this space and help them maximize every single opportunity to elevate their brand, to position themselves through content, and living in the great city of Atlanta, all of the opportunities that they have available to them, them understanding how deeply invested we are in this space for them.
Q. Where does your team stand with vaccinations, percentages, how that helps you move forward with a potentially normal fall?
Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall: The University of Virginia has a unique policy. I'm not sure how widespread it is. All students are required to be vaccinated before they come back to Charlottesville. There are possibly two exemptions. Medical exemption is possibly one of them, religious exemption is the other. We don't make those decisions, the university does.
Every player on my team has 100% been vaccinated or been granted the exemption at this point.
Q. Name, image and likeness is something that is obviously surrounding all of collegiate athletics right now. Being a coach as you have for so many years, what can you say about what you know of it and what you think of it as we step forward?
Duke head coach David Cutcliffe: I've been fortunate to serve on different NCAA committees, including the Football Oversight Committee. Had a lot of previous conversations. I think it's a great thing that a player has the opportunity to own and build their image. I told our players name, image and likeness, we used to call it reputation. Let's not forget that as you build this.
The intention is for a player to be able to build an image and benefit from it. There's a lot of ways you can do it, through even social media. You don't need representation. You can give private lessons at an appropriate time.
What you can't do with name, image and likeness is get so carried away with it that you erode your image. It can be a dangerous thing.
It also should not be a part of the recruiting climate. I winched when I saw a quote from a state legislator, We have to get this law passed, this is hurting us in recruiting. That's not the intent of this. The intent, again, is ownership that's earned. That's a fair assessment of life.
I think my job as a coach is to really try to help parents and players understand, not only once they're in your program but in the recruiting process, that this is not a good selection of a school based on if that's what you're looking for. That's never been the premium value of college football.
It's been my whole life college football. So I embrace the opportunity. I think it's great. But I think a lot of people are going to have to learn how to manage it, not just players, families, coaches, media. There's a lot of responsibility to our great game to make sure that we're very good to our players with this in an appropriate manner.
3 p.m. -- FSU contingent is en route.
1 p.m. --
11:15 -- Miami QB D'Eriq King on his NIL deal with FSU QB McKenzie Milton: "Florida State is our rivals ... but business is business." Said he has known McKenzie for several years and was happy to partner with him. Said the biggest goal was creating opportunities for other players.
10:30 -- Just wrapped up that press conference. Will have full story coming, along with video reaction from Tom and Aslan. And the Miami players and Manny will speak at 10:45 a.m. So we will have coverage from that and other Coastal schools.
10:20 -- Says two of his children are college athletes and he talks to them a lot about NIL. Says they haven't made any deals yet, but they are looking at some options. Wrapping up, says it's a positive move overall, but just needs to be a level playing field. And that's a wrap.
10:17 a.m. -- On playoff expansion ... says the ACC coaches will get a presentation today from the playoff committee. Eager to hear the coaches' and players' input about length of the season. Says he understands there are concerns but does think they need to look at it. And then take an 'educated position" from a conference standpoint about whether they want to support the expansion to 12 teams.
10:14 am -- On transfer portal. Is concerned about kids getting left out in the cold and also the affect it has on rosters. Thinks they need to look at it and consider ways to make it better, but still thinks it was the best thing to do for the athletes.
10:12 a.m. -- Says 7 schools have mandated vaccines for all students. There's no question there will be a higher chance of playing if players are vaccinated. Takes players out of contact tracing, etc. ... "I believe in being vaccinated." But stands by earlier comment that it's a personal decision.
10:10 a.m. -- On Notre Dame ... Says "we all got a real life example" this past fall of what it would look like if Notre Dame joined the ACC. Mentions that he has a lot of ties there and would love to have them in. Who knows where the future will go? But says his focus is on the 14 schools that are full-time members.
10:07 a.m. -- On Comcast not carrying the ACC network ... says that has been one of his top priorities. "Distribution is critical for us." Says carrier negotiations are going on this summer and fall and this there will be progress.
10:05 a.m. -- On the future of the NCAA ... believes the time is right for a "complete holistic review" of the NCAA's future. Wants them to look at everything. Wants conferences and universities to help set agenda. "more change is coming"
10:03 a.m. -- On NIL ... Not having a national rule will cause "major disruptions." Says it can't become a "recruiting advantage" for certain schools. "We need federal help ... hope that it's sooner rather than later."
10 a.m. -- On vaccinations ... over half of the ACC schools are over 85 percent threshold of vaccinations on team. Says others are close to reahing that goal. Says they're waiting a little on more information on the variant before deciding what happens with forfeits, etc. Decision will come soon.
9:55 -- On ACC Network ... says the network is exceeding revenue projections so far (doesn't give specifics, of course). Says there will be additional network announcements over the next two days. "Football must be No. 1 priority for us ... for all of us." Says they want 24/7 and 365 mindset when it comes to football. "We're just getting started." Says that will not diminish investment in other sports. But will have a "renewed commitment and emphasis" to football.
9:50 -- Talking about Name Image and Likeness, says they're continuing to push for federal legislation that will make sure that all schools are operating from the same standpoint. ... On COVID, says each ACC school will set their own guidelines on vaccine requirements. Says he is a proponent of vaccines and believes they will give schools the best chance of playing but also respects the rights of people to make their own decisions. ... Says the ACC A.D.s met yesterday to continue discussing what will happen if players can't compete in games due to COVID or contact tracing (forfeits, rescheduling, etc). Says the ACC will announce its COVID policy in the coming weeks.
9:45 -- Talks about his trips to all 15 school campuses this spring. Said he got a lot of feedback about what's working, what needs to improve in the league. Overall, the feedback was "very positive" but knows there is plenty of room for improvement. ... Talks about the racial and social justice efforts made by ACC schools and the conference this past year and says they will continue. Also will continue efforts to help with mental health issues.
9:40 -- Phillips going through some accomplishments from the past year. ACC teams won 5 NCAA titles this year. Virginia in women's swimming, Notre Dame in fencing, UNC in field hockey, Boston College in women's lacrosse and Virginia in men's lacrosse. ... 24 individuals in the conference won national titles in various sports.
9:35 -- Phillips starts off his first address as ACC commissioner by thanking the media for coming in person as the pandemic continues to be a challenge. Talks about his 5 months in the job. ... Says former Commissioner John Swofford has been "invaluable" in helping him settle in. Says they had an event to salute Swofford last night. Says the MVP of the ACC football championship game will now be given the John Swofford Award.
9:25 a.m. -- We should be starting the Phillips media session in about 5 minutes. Expecting the future of the NCAA, College Playoff and NIL to be among the main topics. Also could be discussion about the TV contract and whether Comcast will bring the ACC Network on board. Will post updates once we begin.
---
Good morning!
ACC Kickoff begins this morning in Charlotte, and Warchant is on location. Aslan, Austin, Tom Lang and I arrived last night and will be providing live coverage all day today and tomorrow.
Check back here for updates from ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips’ address around 9:30 a.m., and keep coming back throughout the day for news and videos from our staff.
Thanks and be back soon!
Q. I want to talk about your approach to the NIL deal you signed, the things your school has going on with NIL, why you're excited about it, the advantages you'll get.
Miami DB Bubba Bolden: The biggest thing with the NIL, it's a great opportunity for every college athlete around the country. One thing with us, we've been talking about the NIL since the beginning of the spring. Coach Diaz did a good job of bringing in people just to inform us on how to do it, how to go about it.
The same thing like I said before: we keep the main thing the main thing, and that's football. The deals come. You do it when you can do it. My main focus personally is football.
I'm excited for all the deals, for everyone to get money. But personally, I keep the main thing the main thing.
Q. Assessing your five seasons at Virginia Tech, some change now as you step forward here, how would you assess that as you step into your sixth?
Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente: Well, it's certainly been interesting. Each job and deal is different and unique. After our first two years, I had a very honest, really good conversation with Whit, our athletic director, talked to him. We won 19 games in two years. I said, Whit, you didn't bring me here for these past two years, you brought me here for what we're about to go through. We were not in good shape. We were in the process of building facilities. We had some issues on our roster that were going to take time to get through. We've now completed many of those facilities. We're now adding, expanding our support staff for our players and recruiting. Now starting to get into having an older team.
I really felt great a year ago about exactly where we were and what we were doing and the status of our football team, a variety of factors have affected that. But I still feel the same way. I'm really excited to see this football team play and kick this season off.
Q. Speaking about the NIL stuff, have you given any thought to the dynamic in the locker room of if some guys are earning money, other guys aren't, how that might manifest itself?
Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente: Absolutely I've given thought to it. It's a dangerous part of it. There's all sorts of scenarios. You all can imagine what they are, from guys earning money that aren't playing or guys that "I should be playing and I'm not." All sorts of -- the litany of that.
It's difficult. It's difficult to be a coach now. It's more difficult than it was 10 years ago. This is another hurdle that we've got to find a way to continue to address, to help keep guys together and understand how it actually works.
So, yeah, it's a huge piece of it.
Q. You went down to Tallahassee last year and lost a game a lot of people, including yourself, didn't expect to. Given your ties to Florida State and your quarterback during the recruiting process, is that a game you have potentially circled as special, or is every game even-keeled as you go into the season?
North Carolina head coach Mack Brown: The first question I got today is, You guys are getting so much hype, everybody expects you to win every game, how can you talk about one in the middle when you have to go to Virginia Tech in the opener?
We basically have a three-game season. That's what I've told the players. I'll start talking to you more national after three games, if you haven't lost a game. But let's quit talking. We've gotten hype. We've been hugged. We've had sugar thrown all over us. We're all enjoying it, we like it.
Let's clean it off, and let's get back to facts. We were fifth in the country when we went to Florida State, about 25th when we were leaving. That took about three hours to drop that far.
There were two conferences that weren't playing when we were fifth in the country. I was trying to explain to them, You're not the fifth best team in the country. I tell them you're not the fifth best team in the country, but we got to play. Nobody is good enough anymore to go out there and stand around.
We have some great older players that are leaders, three of them here today, then we've got a bunch of young guys. The young guys have to grow up. We've been circled by everybody in this league.
In fact, I can tell even in recruiting people are being really critical and are cutting us in recruiting. I'm so proud of that. That didn't happen the first year. Nobody cared. So now that we're getting a little better, I'm so excited people are critical of us. So that's a good thing.
But, yes, we'd like to beat Florida State. That's way down that list of issues before we get to it.
Q. Obviously the NIL stuff. How are you approaching it? You're one of the more visible players in the ACC.
North Carolina QB Sam Howell: Yeah, definitely, it's definitely something I thought a lot about. I hired a marketing team, so we have a marketing team working on my behalf. They've done a good job kind of lifting the weight off my shoulders. The school has been very supportive.
I think the main thing for me is I want to keep the main thing the main thing, which is winning football games. You want to take advantage of the opportunity you have. I've done some things, partnered with a charity called Table in Chapel Hill. We deliver meals to underprivileged kids come Chapel Hill. That's my first partnership.
I'm looking for more opportunities, things where I can involve my teammates, give them some opportunities as well. I think there's a good place for it. I just want to make sure as a team we keep the main thing the main thing, and that's winning football games.
Q. Name, image and likeness, something that every coach has to really think about, break down to the best of your ability. There's a lot of questions. Doesn't seem like there's a lot of answers at the moment. How do you assess it?
Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi: Number one, it's a great opportunity for our kids. I think as coaches, you look at your children back at home, your children on campus. I look at all our players. The opportunities they have. I want them to be selective, I want them to do the right opportunities. You want to make sure they're organized in what they do.
The opportunities that our kids are getting. It gives some young guys an opportunity to look up at a Kenny Pickett or a Deslin Alexandre and say, I want to be like him. Look what he got. How do I get where Kenny is?
Everybody wants to be in Kenny shoes. It's not a given, he's earned everything he's got. Kenny, when he decided to come back, he didn't come back thinking that this name, image and likeness was going to be something. But he's able to take part in it. It's really going to build him for the future, it's going to build our kids for the future.
I think it's a great opportunity for our young men to build their image. We have a life skills program on campus. Penny Semaia runs it. Since the first day I arrived on campus, he talked about branding, branding. We've been branding for a long time at Pittsburgh. He talks about the first impression, what do people think of you when they step up on this podium today. Now it's an opportunity for our kids to earn some money, earn a meal, I don't care what it is. Not to have to go to a restaurant and say, You can't give me that appetizer.
It's a great opportunity. There's got to be some restrictions, some lids put on this thing. I think eventually we'll get to that. It's disappointing there isn't already some, like, legislation. I think the commissioner talked about it this morning, I won't beat a dead horse with that. I think there have to be some constraints on this thing or it can get out of control. I think you want to make everything equal. I think the quality there is going to be important.
Q. NIL, what your approach is, how you're guiding your players through that process?
Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins: Absolutely. I appreciate it. Let me first say this is the first picture in the last three days that I'm the tallest one on the picture. So I appreciate the ACC doing that so I'm not clowned on social media about all my guys being so much taller than me. Anyway, I digress (smiling).
One of the first things is the mechanism that we have in place to educate our guys, put them in a really good position. We started a 404 Academy. We've had educational sessions in person, via Zoom, to educate them in every way that they can to market themselves, brand themselves, position themselves in this space to maximize all the opportunities. I think those mechanisms are very important.
The thing that I think is the most important, though, is our commitment as an organization to support our guys, be fully invested in this space and help them maximize every single opportunity to elevate their brand, to position themselves through content, and living in the great city of Atlanta, all of the opportunities that they have available to them, them understanding how deeply invested we are in this space for them.
Q. Where does your team stand with vaccinations, percentages, how that helps you move forward with a potentially normal fall?
Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall: The University of Virginia has a unique policy. I'm not sure how widespread it is. All students are required to be vaccinated before they come back to Charlottesville. There are possibly two exemptions. Medical exemption is possibly one of them, religious exemption is the other. We don't make those decisions, the university does.
Every player on my team has 100% been vaccinated or been granted the exemption at this point.
Q. Name, image and likeness is something that is obviously surrounding all of collegiate athletics right now. Being a coach as you have for so many years, what can you say about what you know of it and what you think of it as we step forward?
Duke head coach David Cutcliffe: I've been fortunate to serve on different NCAA committees, including the Football Oversight Committee. Had a lot of previous conversations. I think it's a great thing that a player has the opportunity to own and build their image. I told our players name, image and likeness, we used to call it reputation. Let's not forget that as you build this.
The intention is for a player to be able to build an image and benefit from it. There's a lot of ways you can do it, through even social media. You don't need representation. You can give private lessons at an appropriate time.
What you can't do with name, image and likeness is get so carried away with it that you erode your image. It can be a dangerous thing.
It also should not be a part of the recruiting climate. I winched when I saw a quote from a state legislator, We have to get this law passed, this is hurting us in recruiting. That's not the intent of this. The intent, again, is ownership that's earned. That's a fair assessment of life.
I think my job as a coach is to really try to help parents and players understand, not only once they're in your program but in the recruiting process, that this is not a good selection of a school based on if that's what you're looking for. That's never been the premium value of college football.
It's been my whole life college football. So I embrace the opportunity. I think it's great. But I think a lot of people are going to have to learn how to manage it, not just players, families, coaches, media. There's a lot of responsibility to our great game to make sure that we're very good to our players with this in an appropriate manner.
3 p.m. -- FSU contingent is en route.
1 p.m. --
11:15 -- Miami QB D'Eriq King on his NIL deal with FSU QB McKenzie Milton: "Florida State is our rivals ... but business is business." Said he has known McKenzie for several years and was happy to partner with him. Said the biggest goal was creating opportunities for other players.
10:30 -- Just wrapped up that press conference. Will have full story coming, along with video reaction from Tom and Aslan. And the Miami players and Manny will speak at 10:45 a.m. So we will have coverage from that and other Coastal schools.
10:20 -- Says two of his children are college athletes and he talks to them a lot about NIL. Says they haven't made any deals yet, but they are looking at some options. Wrapping up, says it's a positive move overall, but just needs to be a level playing field. And that's a wrap.
10:17 a.m. -- On playoff expansion ... says the ACC coaches will get a presentation today from the playoff committee. Eager to hear the coaches' and players' input about length of the season. Says he understands there are concerns but does think they need to look at it. And then take an 'educated position" from a conference standpoint about whether they want to support the expansion to 12 teams.
10:14 am -- On transfer portal. Is concerned about kids getting left out in the cold and also the affect it has on rosters. Thinks they need to look at it and consider ways to make it better, but still thinks it was the best thing to do for the athletes.
10:12 a.m. -- Says 7 schools have mandated vaccines for all students. There's no question there will be a higher chance of playing if players are vaccinated. Takes players out of contact tracing, etc. ... "I believe in being vaccinated." But stands by earlier comment that it's a personal decision.
10:10 a.m. -- On Notre Dame ... Says "we all got a real life example" this past fall of what it would look like if Notre Dame joined the ACC. Mentions that he has a lot of ties there and would love to have them in. Who knows where the future will go? But says his focus is on the 14 schools that are full-time members.
10:07 a.m. -- On Comcast not carrying the ACC network ... says that has been one of his top priorities. "Distribution is critical for us." Says carrier negotiations are going on this summer and fall and this there will be progress.
10:05 a.m. -- On the future of the NCAA ... believes the time is right for a "complete holistic review" of the NCAA's future. Wants them to look at everything. Wants conferences and universities to help set agenda. "more change is coming"
10:03 a.m. -- On NIL ... Not having a national rule will cause "major disruptions." Says it can't become a "recruiting advantage" for certain schools. "We need federal help ... hope that it's sooner rather than later."
10 a.m. -- On vaccinations ... over half of the ACC schools are over 85 percent threshold of vaccinations on team. Says others are close to reahing that goal. Says they're waiting a little on more information on the variant before deciding what happens with forfeits, etc. Decision will come soon.
9:55 -- On ACC Network ... says the network is exceeding revenue projections so far (doesn't give specifics, of course). Says there will be additional network announcements over the next two days. "Football must be No. 1 priority for us ... for all of us." Says they want 24/7 and 365 mindset when it comes to football. "We're just getting started." Says that will not diminish investment in other sports. But will have a "renewed commitment and emphasis" to football.
9:50 -- Talking about Name Image and Likeness, says they're continuing to push for federal legislation that will make sure that all schools are operating from the same standpoint. ... On COVID, says each ACC school will set their own guidelines on vaccine requirements. Says he is a proponent of vaccines and believes they will give schools the best chance of playing but also respects the rights of people to make their own decisions. ... Says the ACC A.D.s met yesterday to continue discussing what will happen if players can't compete in games due to COVID or contact tracing (forfeits, rescheduling, etc). Says the ACC will announce its COVID policy in the coming weeks.
9:45 -- Talks about his trips to all 15 school campuses this spring. Said he got a lot of feedback about what's working, what needs to improve in the league. Overall, the feedback was "very positive" but knows there is plenty of room for improvement. ... Talks about the racial and social justice efforts made by ACC schools and the conference this past year and says they will continue. Also will continue efforts to help with mental health issues.
9:40 -- Phillips going through some accomplishments from the past year. ACC teams won 5 NCAA titles this year. Virginia in women's swimming, Notre Dame in fencing, UNC in field hockey, Boston College in women's lacrosse and Virginia in men's lacrosse. ... 24 individuals in the conference won national titles in various sports.
9:35 -- Phillips starts off his first address as ACC commissioner by thanking the media for coming in person as the pandemic continues to be a challenge. Talks about his 5 months in the job. ... Says former Commissioner John Swofford has been "invaluable" in helping him settle in. Says they had an event to salute Swofford last night. Says the MVP of the ACC football championship game will now be given the John Swofford Award.
9:25 a.m. -- We should be starting the Phillips media session in about 5 minutes. Expecting the future of the NCAA, College Playoff and NIL to be among the main topics. Also could be discussion about the TV contract and whether Comcast will bring the ACC Network on board. Will post updates once we begin.
---
Good morning!
ACC Kickoff begins this morning in Charlotte, and Warchant is on location. Aslan, Austin, Tom Lang and I arrived last night and will be providing live coverage all day today and tomorrow.
Check back here for updates from ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips’ address around 9:30 a.m., and keep coming back throughout the day for news and videos from our staff.
Thanks and be back soon!
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