ACC Backs Duke-Amazon Deal Despite Big Ten Concerns

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — The Big Ten and the ACC are taking different tacks when it comes to their schools licensing non-conference games outside of their TV partners. Duke recently announced that it had sold several neutral-site games to Amazon, including games against UConn, Gonzaga, and defending-champion Michigan.

Shortly after the announcement, Yahoo Sports reported that the Big Ten was “miffed” about the agreement regarding the Michigan game, believing that it owned the rights to this matchup, not the ACC. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips was asked during the conference’s spring meetings on Wednesday whether he was worried about the precedent this sets and whether it would undermine their TV deals. Phillips said he wasn’t concerned, noting that his conference’s primary media partner, ESPN, was involved in the discussions regarding the deal.

“To Duke’s credit, they came up with something creative and they brought it to ESPN and us. And where it finished and where it started, maybe it wasn’t exactly the same spot,” Phillips said. “But at the end of the day, they also negotiated, [and] had to commit to some things that ESPN wanted as our television partner.

And a couple of those games, obviously, are out of footprint and that allowed some movement there. I’m happy for Duke. It’s additional dollars into the conference, obviously, it’s going to Duke.