DALLAS — Jim Phillips, the ACC commissioner, took the first flight out of Los Angeles on Friday morning but arrived here with a pep in his step that belied his lack of sleep.
In the political realm that seems to dominate so much of the conversation in college sports right now, these have not been great times for Phillips. His conference has been relegated to second-class status in recent College Football Playoff expansion negotiations, having been strong-armed by the SEC and Big Ten into accepting a lower share of revenue that used to be split equally among the Power Five.
Meanwhile, the ACC is being sued by Florida State and Clemson over language in the document that binds them to the league through 2036, suggesting their departure is only a matter of time and legalities.
And whether it was the CFP snubbing the Seminoles in December or Phillips’ league getting only five bids to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, there has been an air of grievance — and fragility — around the entire operation.
But the ACC’s roots are here in this tournament, in this sport where it usually seems to transcend whatever ugliness is swirling around the conference. And on Friday night, as the ACC secured a third spot in the Elite Eight — two of them here in the South Regional — Phillips acknowledged that March has made so many of those big problems seem a little smaller.
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