The Atlantic Coast Conference and commissioner Jim Phillips are finalizing a three-year contract extension that will keep him atop the league through essentially the rest of the decade, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
Phillips has been the league’s commissioner since being named in December 2020 and taking over in February 2021 on a five-year contract, of which he was nearing the halfway point.
The ACC’s move to extend Phillips comes as the Big Ten’s search for a commissioner is hitting its late stages, with finalists expected to be interviewed this week. Phillips was not formally involved in the Big Ten’s process, according to sources, but he had been the speculative favorite.
A source said the deal for Phillips’ extension came together in the past month. “It was the perceived threat of the Big Ten coming after him,” an ACC source told ESPN.
Phillips was the preferred candidate of many athletic directors in the Big Ten, who strongly prefer college athletics experience for the candidate in that role after experiencing Kevin Warren’s steep early learning curve adjusting to college sports.
Phillips is already the second-longest-tenured major conference commissioner, trailing only the SEC’s Greg Sankey.
There have been some clear wins during Phillips’ tenure, including achieving full distribution of the ACC Network on Comcast, which improved ACC Network reach to 90 million homes and bumped up revenue.
The ACC was the only major conference with schools in both of this year’s NCAA tournament Final Fours, as Miami reached the men’s event in Houston and Virginia Tech reached the women’s event in Dallas. The ACC was the top conference with 10 schools in the latest Top 25 of the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings and has recent national titles in field hockey (UNC), men’s soccer (Syracuse) and women’s cross country (NC State).
Phillips’ task in the wake of his new deal is to find creative ways to close the revenue gap between the ACC and the SEC and Big Ten. As those leagues enter new television deals, there’s been a drumbeat in the league for ways to create more revenue and/or distribute revenue differently.
Phillips came to the ACC after a successful tenure as the athletic director at Northwestern, where he spent 13 seasons and developed a reputation as one of the country’s top athletic directors. His accomplishments there included Northwestern’s first men’s NCAA tournament bid, a consistently strong football program under Pat Fitzgerald and the building of a $270 million facility that’s considered the best in all college athletics.
Last season with the Cardinals, he started 23 games and had a 7-4 record with a 3.84 ERA, throwing 117⅓ innings and striking out 109.
The two-time All-Star has a career record of 143-99 with a 3.74 ERA in 364 games (340 starts), tossing 2,006⅓ innings. He ranks sixth in that category, as well as in wins, among active pitchers. Ahead of him in each category are three sure Hall of Famers — Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw.
Lynn, on Tuesday, made it clear that he may be spotted on the baseball field … just not in a major league game.
“There might be something a little fun around the corner upcoming weekend, so stayed tuned,” Lynn said. “But from Major League Baseball, I am done pitching.”
NEW YORK — Right-hander reliever Adam Ottavino is returning to the New York Yankees, agreeing Tuesday to a one-year contract.
A 39-year-old sidearmer, Ottavino agreed to a minor league contract with Boston on Feb. 18 and exercised his right to be released on March 23 after compiling a 10.80 ERA in five spring training appearances.
He was 2-2 with one save and a 4.34 ERA in 60 relief appearances for the New York Mets last year, stranding 15 of 20 inherited runners.
Ottavino pitched for the Yankees in 2019 and ’20, going 8-8 with a 2.76 ERA in 97 relief appearances. He is 41-43 with 46 saves and a 3.49 ERA in 14 big league seasons with St. Louis, Colorado (2012-18), the Yankees (2019-20), Boston (2021) and the Mets (2022-24).
The Yankees transferred right-hander JT Brubaker to the 60-day injured list and placed closer Devin Williams on the paternity list.
The NHL began handing out the Presidents’ Trophy to the team with the best regular-season record beginning in the 1985-86 campaign. In its history, it has been awarded 37 times to 18 clubs.
Those teams have been anything but a shoo-in to win the Stanley Cup, however. Just two clubs in the salary cap era (since 2005-06) have won the Presidents’ Trophy and hoisted the Stanley Cup: the 2007-08 Detroit Red Wings and the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks. Two of the past six Presidents’ Trophy winners have lost in the first round.
So, that’s the challenge ahead for whomever claims the trophy this season. At this juncture, it appears to have been whittled down to one of two teams: the Winnipeg Jets (with 106 points through 74 games) or the Washington Capitals (103 through 73).
From an overall strength of schedule standpoint, the Jets have a more difficult route. According to Stathletes, the win percentage of their remaining opponents is 51.3%, which is 12th toughest. Compare that to 47.3% — the 28th toughest — for the Capitals.
Despite that, Stathletes gives Winnipeg the edge, projecting the Jets for 115.9 points and the Caps for 114.7. It appears this race will come down to the very end!
There are less than three weeks left until season’s end on April 17, and we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 87 Regulation wins: 30 Playoff position: WC2 Games left: 7 Points pace: 95.1 Next game: vs. DET (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 95.5% Tragic number: N/A
Points: 78 Regulation wins: 25 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 8 Points pace: 86.4 Next game: vs. CGY (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 0.5% Tragic number: 8
Points: 62 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 8 Points pace: 68.7 Next game: @ CBJ (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 51 Regulation wins: 18 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 8 Points pace: 56.5 Next game: vs. COL (Wednesday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Pacific Division
Points: 98 Regulation wins: 42 Playoff position: P1 Games left: 9 Points pace: 110.1 Next game: vs. EDM (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 99.9% Tragic number: N/A
Points: 91 Regulation wins: 36 Playoff position: P3 Games left: 9 Points pace: 102.2 Next game: vs. WPG (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 99.9% Tragic number: N/A
Points: 81 Regulation wins: 26 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 8 Points pace: 89.8 Next game: vs. SEA (Wednesday) Playoff chances: 3.3% Tragic number: 11
Points: 72 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 9 Points pace: 80.9 Next game: vs. SJ (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: 4
Points: 68 Regulation wins: 25 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 7 Points pace: 74.4 Next game: @ VAN (Wednesday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 49 Regulation wins: 14 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 9 Points pace: 55.0 Next game: @ ANA (Tuesday Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Note: An “x” means that the team has clinched a playoff berth. An “e” means that the team has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.