The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) started the process of moving its headquarters out of its home in Greensboro, North Carolina last month. Greensboro has served as the conference headquarters home since its founding in 1953.
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips supported the appraisal, and retained the services of a pair of consulting firms to explore what he dubs as an “a holistic and transparent review" of the league’s structure. This move comes several months after Phillips was selected as the new conference commissioner.
“If you’re going to do an assessment, I have a responsibility to do it in a complete manner,” Phillips said in an interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “And it wouldn’t be complete unless we looked at [potential relocation] as well."
The headquarter selection process has moved onto the next stage of evaluating potential cities based on a select criteria:
- Be located within the Eastern Standard Time zone
- Population size with positive growth trends
- Access to a large hub airport with effective access to and from all ACC member schools
- Anticipated benefit to the overall ACC brand
- Financial considerations related to operational expenses
Phillips later backed up this sentiment.
“Should [conference headquarters] be aligned with media opportunities?” he said in the Times-Dispatch interview. “Should it be aligned with Fortune 100, 200, 500 companies? Should it be aligned with corporate sponsorship opportunities? Should it be aligned with a city that could host championships or does host championships?"
The ACC's rise can be traced back to North Carolina. Without the basketball success and national branding of Duke and UNC, the ACC wouldn't have nearly as much prestige it does today.
That is why the ACC should stay in North Carolina. One solution could be the Triangle — the unofficial capital of the ACC with the trifecta of Duke, UNC and N.C. State. Also, the area's rapid development could be attractive to the conference looking to settle in an area of heavy business presence.
