Jim Phillips wants to make sure Charlotte is in rotation for more ACC championshipsGetty Images
The ACC’s staff of about 50 people is now “ensconced in their new headquarters” in Charlotte and Saturday’s ACC Championship Game was held at Bank of America Stadium in the city, but the game is “only one strand, though, in the rope that is tying the ACC and the city of Charlotte closer together,” according to Scott Fowler of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said the conference has to be “an owner” in the city. Phillips: “An owner with championships. An owner with bowl games. You can’t be a renter in your own city. You have to own.” Fowler noted that “in other words, more ACC Championships will be contested in Charlotte” beyond the football title game. Phillips added that he would like to make an announcement this month in which that ACC will award the next “3-5 years” worth of men’s basketball tournaments to various cities. Fowler noted Charlotte is “widely considered to be the favorite” for the 2025 men’s basketball tournament, but Greensboro is also “heavily in the mix in the next cycle.” Phillips said it is “important for Charlotte to absolutely be part of the rotation in the future of ACC basketball, for men and for women.” Phillips: “You have to have a home base to me, and a place that you rotate out of occasionally. ... Listening to the membership, meaning that our presidents and athletic directors and coaches, they really like Charlotte and they like North Carolina.” Phillips added with “nearly 100,000 ACC alums in the Charlotte area,” the city “will be in line for various other ACC championships in the future” -- such as baseball, soccer or lacrosse (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/1).
