ACC commissioner Jim Phillips wasn't surprised when No. 10 Miami advanced to the College Football Playoff championship with a 31-27 victory against No. 6 Ole Miss in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8. 

Phillips navigated the tricky tie-breaker situation that kept the Hurricanes out of the ACC championship game but still gave them a chance at an at-large bid in the 12-team College Football Playoff. Yet victory did not mean vindication or validation, at least not to Phillips.  

"Miami earned and deserved to be selected to this CFP," Phillips told AllSportsPeople on Monday. "I never debated that. I never felt that like that needed to be validated in my own mind. I followed those things closely, and they earned it."

Miami (13-2) now represents the ACC in the CFP championship game against No. 1 Indiana (15-0) on Monday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The ACC has not had a school in the CFP championship game since No. 3 Clemson played No. 1 LSU on Jan. 13, 2020. Phillips took over as ACC commissioner a little more than a year later on Feb. 1, 2021. 

While the end of the four-team CFP era was a tumultuous time for the conference, Phillips stayed the course during massive shifts in college football. The ACC settled lawsuits with Florida State and Clemson and added SMU, Cal and Stanford in realignment. What almost was a year where the ACC missed the CFP entirely has turned into a remarkable turnaround in the second year of the 12-team CFP era. 

"I'm proud of Miami and I'm thrilled for the ACC and what it means for our league," Phillips said. "It follows with some of the changes that we've made ahead of this."

MORE CFP CHAMPIONSHIP GAME NEWS:

• Expert prediction of Indiana-Miami final
• Curt Cignetti's past meets his future in semis
• Roster breakdown: Who has more blue-chippers?
• Is Indiana better than Joe Burrow-led LSU?
• Miami's run has a March Madness feel

ACC new success initiatives are working 

The College Football Playoff distributes $4 million to each conference for each school that makes the playoff, another $4 million for making the quarterfinal, $6 million for the semifinals and $6 million for the CFP championship game. In this case, that's $20 million for Miami. 

The other three Power 4 conferences distribute that money among their member schools. As part of the ACC's new success initiatives, Miami will keep all $20 million. Was that strategy met with any pushback? 

"I've not heard complaints from anyone yet," Philips said. "Now the dollars haven't been distributed, and you always want to see how things go. I think it's very innovative and an industry leader. The most successful, earn the most. It's a motivator for investment across all of our schools." 

This was part of the settlement with Florida State and Clemson. The ACC has an uneven revenue distribution model based on the success of football and men's basketball teams and television viewership. On June 8, the House vs. NCAA settlement allowed for schools to pay student-athletes a total of approximately $20.5 million 2025-26. Phillips said this all has worked out for the ACC member institutions. 

"They answered that loudly by being all in across the 17 schools, and I think it's shown up in what's happened in this first year post-House," Phillips said.

On the field, the ACC also scored a win by allowing television viewers to watch instant replay as it unfolds. That three-way communication from the referee on the field to the official in the press box to the command center in Charlotte was live during in-game telecasts this season. 

"You almost felt like you were in the room, didn't you?" Phillips asked.

Phillips credits ACC supervisor of football officials Al Riveron and ACC senior vice president of football Michael Strickland for encouraging the decision. Phillips did not expect the over-the-top favorable reaction, but again, it worked. 

"That's where the game is going, and I hope others will follow," Philips said. "I hope other conferences will follow. I hope the NFL will follow it at some point," Phillips said. "It's been great for the fans to understand that nobody is tipping the scale for one school or another for any reason. They're really trying to get these calls right."

Jim Phillips talks ACC success in 2025-26 Bowl Season 

The ACC compiled a 2-11 bowl record in 2024-25. Phillips remembers relaying disappointment to the athletic directors within the conference afterward. He addressed the coaches in Amelia Island, Fla., at the ACC Spring Meetings in May with an up-front message about the meaning of bowl games. 

"I understand the rosters change and maybe you don't have your quarterback or you don't have some of the players who have opted out and are going into the transfer portal," Phillips said. "But if you play the games, then the results should matter. They just should, so 12 months later the narrative is completely different."

Power 4 conference bowl records 2025-26

The ACC had a great bowl season. ACC schools went 7-2 against Power 4 schools in bowl games, which is ahead of the Big Ten (5-4), Big 12 (4-3) and SEC (1-8). That comes off a strong regular season where nine ACC schools won eight or more games. There is a competitive parity within the conference, and ACC schools played 26 non-conference games against Power 4 schools and Notre Dame. Including the postseason, the ACC went 14-21 against other P4 schools in 2025-26.

Miami has a chance to become the conference's third different national champion since the 2013 season – when No. 1 Florida State beat No. 2 Auburn 34-31 in the final BCS championship game. Clemson won CFP championships in 2016 and 2018. Miami beat No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Ole Miss to reach the CFP championship – and now faces Indiana. The winner will give their respective conference a national champion and the best bowl record this season. 

"(Miami) challenged themselves in the non-conference playing Notre Dame, Florida and South Florida, so what they did is not surprising to me," Phillips said. "It just isn't. You could just see it. You could tell over the last several years they were getting better. For some people, they feel like, ‘Well this validated it.' I never felt that way. I think they had the hardest road of anybody as it relates to their path." 

What ACC commissioner Jim Phillips thinks on CFP expansion 

Of course, the College Football Playoff's future is at the forefront. The deadline of Jan. 23 looms for a decision on whether to expand the CFP to 16 teams. No. 11 Notre Dame was left out of the CFP this season – and that was a hot debate in the aftermath of the CFP selection. Phillips continues to support the Irish as an ACC member institution. 

For Phillips, the 12-team CFP has been successful, but there is a reason for expansion talk.  

"Here is where the line of demarcation is for me –  I just think when you have worthy teams being left out that could potentially win a national championship, then you probably don't have the right number," Phillips said. "That has been the case the last three years."

Philips used the 2023 season as an example. 

"I felt it when Florida State was left out," Phillips said. "It was a four-team playoff. They were 13-0. Florida State was out. Georgia was out. They didn't make the cut line, and I thought both of those teams could have won a national championship."

Phillips said that was the case with No. 11 Alabama and No. 13 Miami in 2024 and No. 11 Notre Dame and No. 12 BYU this year. 

"I think we should go to 16," Philips said. “I really do, and we'll see if we can come together on that." 

To illustrate that point, Phillips uses the numbers game. In the NFL, 14 of the 32 teams – or 43.8% – get into the NFL playoffs. In college football, 12 of 136 schools – or 8.8% make the CFP. If you shorten that to Power 4 schools and Notre Dame – 11 of 68 – or 16.1% – make the CFP with the five-highest conference champions rule in effect. Those percentages increase with expansion. 

"I think over time you're going to have to prove to people that they have a chance to get into the playoff if that ends up being the most important thing during the course of the year," Phillips said. “You have to be careful with the regular season. You can't do it too drastically, too soon I don't think. Over a period of time, that seems to be a reasonable place for us to get to next."