Commissioner Jim Phillips talks ACC tourney, Caleb Wilson and President Trump
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips says ACC Tournament remains the nation’s best
- Phillips says ACC should get at least 8 NCAA Tournament bids and maybe more
- Phillips backs proposed federal legislation to help deal with NIL and eligibility issues
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips is a man on the move these days.
Now in his fifth year as the league’s commissioner, Phillips has been rolling from one event to the other, believing that there is no substitute for being there when you’re the head of a conference.
I caught up with Phillips by phone on Sunday, after he had gone to Washington, D.C., to represent the ACC in a college sports roundtable directed by President Donald Trump, but before he caught both the ACC women’s basketball final in Duluth, Ga., and the ACC wrestling championships in Blacksburg, Va.
Now Phillips gets to return to Charlotte, where the ACC is headquartered, as the men’s basketball tournament comes to Charlotte’s Spectrum Center for the second straight year. Here’s an edited Q and A of Phillips’ comments in advance of the tournament, which begins Tuesday afternoon.
Scott Fowler: What will people see in Charlotte over the next five days at the ACC Tournament?
Jim Phillips: The ACC tournament is the premier conference basketball tournament. It’s an institution. It generates incredible anticipation and excitement. And I really believe it evokes a sense of nostalgia, with so many wonderful memories for families and fans.
When I first came to the ACC five years ago, I can’t tell you the number of people that grew up in the state of North Carolina that talked about television sets being brought into the classrooms (on quarterfinal Friday).
SF: How many NCAA Tournament bids do you think are realistic for the ACC this year?
JP: To me, double-digit bids would be fantastic. We have at minimum, right now, eight teams that I think really are in. And then we have two or three to have a chance to play their way off the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament…. Relative to NCAA bids, I’ve really been restless about this…. We’ve only had four or five the last couple of years, and that’s just not where the ACC has been.
But I’m telling you, you can’t lose Coach (Roy) Williams, Coach (Mike) Krzyzewski, Coach (Jim) Boeheim, Coach (Tony) Bennett — all of those individuals won at least one, if not multiple, national championships. Then along with Mike Brey, Leonard Hamilton and Jim Larranaga. So we lost seven coaches in the last four years that are all Hall of Fame coaches. So there’s kind of a reset, and I think we went through that. But now we’re back to where the ACC has been for most of its history.
SF: Tell me about going to the “Saving College Sports” roundtable at the White House on Friday in Washington, where you were one of the speakers.
JP: First, I would say it was a privilege to represent the ACC and our membership at the White House. I’ve had a chance to talk to the President a couple of times, and anytime you have a chance to visit with him, he exudes his love and passion for college sports.
Two things that were very important that came out of the meeting. One is that there is support from the President and the cabinet. And from what I understand, it’s bipartisan (support) for the SCORE Act (Congress’ Republican-backed effort to create a national NIL and college athletics regulatory structure), which is critical to the future of college athletics.
We need federal legislation. Right now we have 36 disparate state laws that interpret NIL and other areas…. We need limited legal protection from all the lawsuits you see that are in the system. We have to get eligibility on track. Now, if young people don’t like the decisions that they’re getting from the NCAA when they’re not deemed eligible, they go to the local courthouse and talk to a favorable judge. And a lot of times, that judge has gone to the (same) school.
SF: You mentioned in your speech that day that lawsuits are killing college athletics.
JP: They are. It’s hurting high school kids for young people, ages 23-26, still staying in college athletics. And why wouldn’t they? They’re being paid and compensated for the first time. They love the sport and now to be able to get compensated? I don’t blame them for what they’re doing.
But that’s one reason we need some help…. And then the second piece is the President said that this coming week, he was going to put out an executive order to try to help college sports. I don’t know what that looks like yet. I’ll certainly try to find out.
SF: Will this executive order come out in the middle of the ACC Tournament?
JP: The President said it would be by Friday.
SF: Here’s a UNC question. How will Caleb Wilson being out for the rest of the season impact UNC’s seeding?
JP: Here’s what I know, and I’ve been on the men’s basketball and women’s basketball selection committees…. Caleb Wilson was injured during the Miami game on Feb. 10th. He hasn’t played since that time. North Carolina is 5-2 (since Wilson has been out, from Feb. 11 onward).... So they have fared incredibly well without Caleb.
Now make no mistake, Caleb Wilson is a phenomenal player, but Hubert Davis has done a terrific job of adjusting, and his team has done a terrific job of adjusting.
And so I would hope that there wouldn’t be a huge ding to them as it relates to postseason and the NCAA tournament. Again, this isn’t a new injury. They’ve played seven games, and they’ll play another 1-3 games coming up (in Charlotte), so they’ll have played 8-10 games without him, and they’ll have had a really good record against very good competition.
This story was originally published March 10, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
