ACC commissioner sees Charlotte in running for future tournaments

CHARLOTTE — Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner Jim Phillips took some time this week to explore his new uptown Charlotte neighborhood before the ACC held its men’s and women’s basketball media days here on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Phillips, during an interview with CBJ at The Westin Charlotte, and the 50-person conference staff will be relocating here next summer from Greensboro. The ACC was founded in Greensboro in 1953 and the conference has had its headquarters there since.

On Monday, Phillips and his family paid a visit to Spectrum Center, where the NBA Charlotte Hornets hosted their annual pre-season fan event with current and former players. At the arena, Phillips spent time with Hornets President and Vice Chairman Fred Whitfield.

Phillips offered no details of the conversation but said he and Whitfield enjoyed spending time together. Spectrum Center last hosted an ACC men’s tournament in 2019, when Zion Williamson was playing for the Duke Blue Devils and Phillips was still in the Big Ten as Northwestern University’s athletic director.

At the time, ACC Commissioner John Swofford and other conference leaders said they hoped to avoid going 11 years without a men’s tournament in Charlotte, as had happened between 2008 and 2019. The ACC men’s tournament will be in Greensboro in March 2023 and in Washington the following year. Phillips said the 15-member conference board will soon discuss and decide on three to six years of future tournament sites.

“Certainly, Charlotte will be a place that we look closely to,” he added.

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‘A transformational day’: ACC to relocate league office from Greensboro to Charlotte

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