John Swofford Interview

Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast conference John Swofford is now with us and Commissioner.

Your time is always appreciated. And since there's a lot to get to try to make the most of this time darting with this morning's headline that the NCAA board of governors are recommending is recommending and IL legislation that would allow for college athletes to sign endorsement contracts now. It still needs to be implemented in there expecting something like that can happen by January 2021. Is this something you're in favor of. I think it's fundamentally the right move given point in time as we modern college athletics. Try to put our athletes in the place where they can be successful across the board and in their various endeavors and also think you're right on top of that very complex issue and know the parameters all that will need to go around challenge to manage it for our campuses and for college athletics as well because there will obviously create situations that could be of a negative nature from a recruiting standpoint and from an agent involving involvement standpoint so it is not a simple set forward is a complex one, but I think it's the right one is that your biggest concern. One of compliance one of enforcement. I think so, yes, all significant change to the collegiate model of intercollegiate athletics and in our country and anytime you have a change of this significance of this makes people nervous something that's human nature.

I'm confident that the enterprise service for equal will find the right parameters and be able to manage it. But there so there's certainly somewhere in backside of it, but I do think it's the right thing to be doing at this given point in time in college athletics to benefit schematically another headline from this week came yesterday where you announced that the ACC tournament will be returning to Greensboro at the earliest possible point for those who don't understand a it's been years out that Washington and Brooklyn were on the books To simply say hey let's push everything back because there's competition. Of course for some of the avengers, especially Berkeley center comes to mind. It seemed to me like this was a no-brainer. Was it was yes, holy is necessarily a no-brainer. I think it was absolutely the right thing to do when you consider what Greensboro his neck to this league into to the ACC men's basketball tournament.

Over the years and all of the history and tradition that is been made during our term at the times that it has been in Greensboro and the tremendous totality shown are schools and players and fans on the good people at Greensboro Coliseum.

This year's term and weigh the I felt really badly for people with with the rapidly players enter coaches in the course of plans, their but my heart bled Greensboro as well because this is personally my home and has been 23 years now where the conference was founded and and where we live everyday so all you know when we needed to come back here and we needed to do it as quickly as we could and I was very pleased that athletic directors and faculty representatives in both on that matter, were willing to step up with a little nudging and make a decision sooner than we normally would have probably been doing something later in the summer possible and make certain that the we were coming back and coming back ASAP, so to speak, to Greensboro. We haven't spoken to you since the ACC tournament and everything that happens let's go back to Thursday, March 12, you have the press conference, saying hey were going to try and play the games and then it was just surreal being near the floor and seeing Clemson and Florida State warming up and all the other leagues they are pulling the plug. The biggies actually got 1/2 and where does that day rank in terms of some of the crazier days you had to manage in your position.

20+ years as the Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast conference number one hit number one is not a good thing that was an extraordinarily challenging day and several days.

In fact, things were changing. The first of the way there shortchanging daily by the time that Thursday when we decided to to not finish the term. Things were changing literally hourly with information that was coming in all that help us make those kinds of decisions. I was in constant coach with all my colleagues at the 85 conferences as well as Val Ackerman as Commissioner of the Big East conference and in a good program graduate. By the way, and so so are our athletic directors were in constant touch with them. Our president saying awful about a three day. There are so I really hope when we started determine what is that we would be able to finish it and finish it in a normal fashion but we have been abbreviated. Where we decided to continue without financial and only essential people that needed to be there for the games all unfortunately warning on able to do that as well, but it use the right word opinion. It was a surreal experience and one that you never imagine that you will have when you're standing on for the grades were Coliseum and make an announcement that his overall Thursday with two teams that were out there and ready to play. I went to the dressing room area and spoke with both coaches and and in their athletics directors and handled it extraordinarily well. Brandon and Leonard both and we had an impromptu presentation of the trophy to Leonard in the Florida State team that won the regular season and would've been our top rated team probably going into the NCAA, had it occurred and moved on, but it was it was a very strange experience.

I do appreciate Clemson be in there as well, seeing them stay on the floor. Brad Brownell and all of them apply to both Brandon and winter boats were just just outstanding discipline. It obviously but understanding and an outstanding and healthy how they dealt with it in the) before giving Leonard trophy because they didn't they didn't have to remain out on the floor but Brandon wanted his team to do that. So you know a class class move there, which is not unusual and then the same with Leonard ACC Commissioner John Swofford with the seer on sports on triad before you were the Commissioner of the ACC you were the director of athletics at North Carolina. Roy Williams joining us earlier in the show today how to take me back to when you first started in Chapel Hill because it was a year before Michael Jordan arrived in 1981 and all week long with the last dance donkey series that's been running on ESPN. We been getting a bunch of different angles on the Michael Jordan story. Do you remember the first time meeting.

Who would've been called at that time, Mike, Jordan yes when he was very briefly when he was in Chapel Hill pruning visit and you know little bit. I know at that point he would become both in Chapel Hill and later on we wish to visit periodically his role in Charlotte when, where, talking with Charlotte about ACC term coming there always have the opportunity to visit with conversation season. Florida law mail all but in Charlotte the 20 and spend. You know when you're in college athletics and you see someone like Michael that you see yourself but that she meet the senior in high school and then watched involvement as a as an athlete and as a personal human being of really what it's all about those of the things that you appreciate most something because of the personal aspects of it and so anybody that was ever associated with with Michael what route 11 very proud about how he is developed off the court, as well as on the court and you know one thing I always tell people who sign the most competitive and run a lot of competitive people and she can spend a career she around a long competitive people of the most competitive people I've ever been around Arlene Smith and Michael Jordan and I know a lot of people didn't always think of the quite that way because of the gentlemanly manner in which he had always handled himself. He was an incredible competitor and talk to you don't want to maybe talk you know that's like wanted one day in one of the things it comes across very obviously of ESPN's year going on now is that competitiveness that you obviously as a player. The one thing that he cared about was was winning and helped her team win and so fun to see the city and your time is NED you got a chance to see him when we've been spent one title. Of course in New Orleans back in 1982 is just fantastic to catch up with you, Commissioner Swofford, I know you hunkered down in Greensboro and were really hoping that things are going to get back on schedule with some level of normalcy sometime soon make you so much for filling us in on everything that's going on. It's appreciated just like to be with you. Take care yourself. Thank you. Likewise, that is John Swofford, the Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast conference all lot to dissect their we will do that get to some of the stuff Roy Williams had to say as well. Also were closing in on Wake Forest making a basketball higher so I'll rank all the candidates who are being discussed were doing all that.

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