Amid ACC collapse rumors, Jim Phillips makes huge "revenue" statement as conference realignment takes new strides in college football

The Atlantic Coast Conference collapse rumors have been running rampant. However, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips does not see it that way. He opened the 2024 ACC media days on the main stage by saying something not believed by many.

"[The ACC is] one of the top three conferences ... We fully expect that will remain in the years to come."

The conference realignment discussion has caused many to believe in the ACC collapse rumors. It will be interesting to see how things look as this sounded like a play out of the former Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff's playbook.

With the conference realignment rumors, is the ACC collapse happening?

The ACC collapse rumors have begun since the collapse of the Pac-12 due to conference realignment. While this will be interesting as the conversation between being the third conference in college football is probably more suited for the Big 12 over the ACC, there is a lot of confidence in commissioner Jim Phillips.

He also took a shot at the Clemson Tigers, Florida State Seminoles and any other program trying to leave the conference. He delivered an impassioned defense for the former ACC Commissioner John Swofford. Swofford signed the long-term media rights deal with ESPN, a major cause for the issues. Phillips mentioned that teams had to sign the agreement twice as a defense.

The ACC collapse rumors will continue until there is an official response in the legal battle between the conference and the Clemson Tigers and Florida State Seminoles. One major wrinkle in conference realignment is what he mentioned about Clemson & FSU:

"We will fight to protect the ACC and our members for as long as it takes. We are confident in this league and that it will remain a premier conference in college athletics. These disputes continue to be damaging and disruptive to the league."

Unfortunately, perception is often reality, and the perception of the ACC collapse is that it will happen sooner or later.