PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jim Phillips stands near the ACC Network’s pregame set outside Acresure Stadium, his dark suit standing out among the crowd of Pittsburgh fans getting ready for the game. Panthers’ high-profile visit to Notre Dame Cathedral.
Someone realized that Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner as she passed by.
“It’s nice to see you here,” she said.
“There’s no question,” Phillips answered, reflecting his belief that it’s important for him to be everywhere he can.
like him A closer look at his five years leading the ACCThe Chicago native and former Northwestern athletic director has made a habit of bouncing around the league. New intercoastal footprint. He’s always on the go for a variety of sporting events, from football, which plays an undeniable role as a financial driver in college athletics, to non-revenue programs that stay out of the spotlight.
The Associated Press caught up with him over the weekend as he accompanied him on one such trip. That meant a dawn flight from North Carolina to Pittsburgh, then a flight back and a more than two-hour drive to watch the league’s men’s soccer championship game the next day.
“This is not a job. It’s never been a job,” Phillips told The Associated Press after Sunday’s soccer final. “This is a lifestyle. This is a commitment to a passion that I’ve always had, which is helping young people at a really important time in their lives. … You have to be completely committed to this work.”
start early
Phillips played in more than 30 football games this season, visiting the campuses of all 17 football players in the league and sometimes stopping at multiple games in different cities on the same day.
The trip began at 5:45 a.m. Saturday when Phillips arrived at a regional airport in Concord, North Carolina, about 32 miles from league headquarters in Charlotte. With homework to complete before arriving in the Steel City, he boarded a small private plane for a little over an hour’s flight.
He pulled a blue folder from his backpack and flipped through the pages of his printed notes. Now is the time to prepare for any conversations that may occur in the next few hours. Among them, the most pressing topics are: League on shaky footing to earn multiple berths in the College Football Playoff For the second year in a row.
Phillips was scheduled to appear live on ACC Network’s pregame show “ACC Huddle” to make his point. So he studied the resumes of teams like Georgia Tech, Miami and Pitt entering the weekend as jockeys for CFP consideration, as well as comparative data for teams in other leagues.
Will he really remember all the metrics in that folder?
“Verbatim,” he said with a laugh.
TV related
The plane landed just after 7 a.m., and Phillips immediately hopped into a waiting SUV and drove about 20 minutes to Pittsburgh. That will give you another chance to charge your phone for a busy afternoon of calls, texts, and tracking scores across the country.
What is “College Game Day” from ACC TV Partner ESPN Also on set, Phillips headed to the production office first. He spoke for a few minutes with his colleagues, including former Alabama coach Nick Saban, Desmond Howard and host Rece Davis. Kirk Herbstreit’s golden retriever, Peter, I walked around the room.
He headed to the gameday set where Pitt fans gathered where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers converge to form an impressive backdrop with the Ohio River in the background. He exchanged a quick hello with Pat McAfee before yet another opportunity presented itself.
Mr. Phillips soon began a lengthy backstage chat with the staff of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). About the House SCORE Acta bill that aims to reform college athletics and is being watched closely by sports officials across the country.
He then finished his appearance on “ACC Huddle” and hopped down the set’s stairs to the stadium.
Things were about to get even busier.
stadium connection
It’s not easy to keep up with Phillips. He wakes up around 4:45 a.m. every day and starts working out by 5, with running on the treadmill being his main choice. He focused on moving quickly through the crowd on game day and connecting with as many people as possible. Coaches, athletes, politicians, venue employees, security staff, they’re all fair.
With the noon kickoff looming, he headed to Pitt’s locker room, hugged and chatted with Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi, then went to midfield to find the ABC broadcast crew and give them a quick hello.
As a full-time ACC member for the Fighting Irish, an independent organization in football but an ACC member in all other league sports, he wore a gold and blue tie honoring Pitt’s colors and relocated to a residence on Pitt’s sideline for the duration of the game.
Sideline conversations included former NFL coach Jon Gruden, former Pitt and NFL star Tony Dorsett, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and two former Pitt and NFL stars, defensive back Darrelle Revis and defensive lineman Aaron Donald.
Also in attendance was Pitt Chancellor Joanne Gabel, who wore pit blue-tinted glasses and black shoes with the Pitt script logo.
“College sports are changing a lot, and the changes are literally happening at a dizzying pace,” Gabel said. “So the way to get through that and be successful is to have a foundation and build that foundation face-to-face. And there’s no one who sets a better example than our commissioner. He’s been in this industry his entire professional life, so to speak. It shows. He knows everyone. He nurtures those relationships.”
Phillips says this skill is rooted in her upbringing as the youngest of 10 children, where her father taught her to “know people’s names” and “to greet people honestly and warmly.”
This is now a core approach in leading one of the nation’s Power 4 soccer conferences.
“The world is all about people and relationships,” Phillips said at the kickoff. Notre Dame won 37-15. “One of the great things about this job is all the interesting people you get a chance to meet, and at the end of the day, you’re trying to represent the conference in the best way possible.”
“It’s an honor to be a part of it.”
Things calmed down in North Carolina on Sunday, but remained crowded.
Phillips made sure to attend Catholic Mass at his home parish in Huntersville, another part of his daily routine, and immediately headed to his car. The soccer championship game between SMU and Virginia State was scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., so it would take him about three hours to drive 260 miles to Cary, near Raleigh.
He arrived with plenty of time to spare and took a seat at a mid-sized table wearing a black hat and a white-striped golf shirt with the ACC logo.
This gave him the opportunity to observe everything from game action, the bench, the officials’ work with replays, and even the smallest details.
“Good job,” Phillips said to a young ball boy at one point. “You’re doing a good job.”
When Virginia player Stephen Hurlock suffered a serious leg injury late in the game, Phillips walked to the edge of the field to join tournament director Brandon Neff and watched from a few feet away as medical personnel treated Hurlock. He also stopped to have a quick chat with Harlock just before the new student was taken to the hospital.
When the game was over, Phillips quickly handed the ACC trophy across the field to the celebrating Mustangs, handed it to them amidst the chaos, and moved out of the way.
He stayed for the official postgame trophy presentation ceremony, handing out tournament-wide honors and miniature versions of the ACC Trophy to each SMU player, coach and support staff, then posing for a final photo with the celebrating team.
“I was happy to be a part of this event, and definitely my family was happy to be a part of it,” Phillips said of the weekend. “I wouldn’t want to do anything else. I’m grateful to be the head of the ACC. And I’m just grateful for what I get to do every day.”
So it was time to head to the car and head home.
And next week, I’ll be on the road again.
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This story has been corrected to correct the spelling of Neff instead of Meff.
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