Here is what ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips had to say today in his State of the ACC address at the ACC Kickoff here in Charlotte:
JIM PHILLIPS: Good morning, and welcome to the 2021 ACC football kickoff. If you're anything like me, you've been looking forward to this event for many months. This is a wonderful opportunity to gather together as we look ahead to the upcoming fall seasons with great anticipation in a hopefully more normal year.
Thanks to each of you for making the effort and taking the time to be with us here in Charlotte. On behalf of our coaches, student-athletes, schools and conference office staff, we sincerely appreciate your interest and your coverage of the ACC.
Each of you are an important thread in the fabric of college athletics, and I want you to know how much I personally appreciate what you mean to this league and how you and the entire ACC family have welcomed me, Laura and our five kids since becoming commissioner.
It's been an honor and privilege to serve as ACC commissioner over the last five months. It is truly my belief that there is no better conference in the country, when you look at the incredible student-athletes, our 15 world-class institutions, our broad-based sports offerings and our commitment to maximizing the educational and athletic opportunities for student-athletes.
I'm so proud to work with the tremendous chancellors and presidents that collectively serve as the ACC board of directors. I'd like to specifically thank Syracuse University chancellor Kent Syverud for his incredible leadership and counsel as the outgoing chair of the board of directors.
On July 1, Duke University president Vincent Price and University of Louisville president Neeli Bendapudi began their tenures as chair and vice chair respectively. Each will be outstanding leaders as we navigate the 2021-22 academic year.
Since I began my tenure in February, I've appreciated the chance to spend time with and engage with so many people. I'm looking forward to continuing to build upon those relationships with our countless student-athletes, coaches, administrators, league partners and with each of you.
Speaking of relationships, last night we were able to enjoy a wonderful evening celebrating our former commissioner. John Swofford has been invaluable to me since my appointment and is a true gentleman and a giant in college athletics. For more than five decades he served the ACC in many different roles, including the last 24 as commissioner. His transformational leadership has meant so much to this league, and he really is the gold standard of commissioners.
Over 225 current and former administrators, staff, bowl and television partners and friends were in attendance as we honored John and his beautiful wife Nora. In addition to our previous announcement that the Swofford name would be added to the league's annual postgraduate scholarship, we shared the news that beginning this year, the ACC Football Championship Game Most Valuable Player will annually receive the John Swofford Award.
There is a tremendous appreciation in this league and nationally for what John Swofford has meant to college athletics and as a friend to so many of us. Laura and I are so appreciative of our friendship with John and Nora. They represent everything that's right in college athletics and in this world.
John knows that I'll never let him get too far away from the ACC, and he's just a phone call away for me.
I'm looking forward to answering your questions a little bit later, but first I'd like to express some sincere gratitude, share some thoughts on my first five months, and address some of the timely topics affecting college athletics in our country.
As all of you are well aware, the pandemic created unprecedented challenges over the last 15 months. To say last year was unique was certainly an understatement, and we continue to owe a debt of gratitude to the countless front-line workers who have unselfishly sacrificed and put themselves in harm's way to serve others. My sincere thanks to all of our heroes.
Led by the extraordinarily and tireless efforts by the ACC medical advisory group, whose work continues, our schools safely and successfully managed athletics in a pandemic. Watching the resiliency, commitment and sacrifices of our student-athletes was inspiring, and the adaptability and communication by our coaches and administrators created a successful blueprint of effectively working together.
There's not enough credit given to our student-athletes, coaches and administrators for what they were able to accomplish this past year, so on behalf of the entire conference, let me say thank you.
What makes this past year's achievements even more incredible is that our student-athletes and programs shined while facing so many challenges. As we just witnessed here on the screen, the league crowned a champion in all 27 of our sponsored sports, and 10 different institutions won ACC Championships. ACC teams also won five NCAA team championships.
Virginia won the league's first-ever national title in women's swimming. Notre Dame won fencing, making it three of the last four national titles for the Fighting Irish. North Carolina took home its third straight field hockey title and the 21st for the ACC, including 14 of the last 20. It was an All-ACC final when Boston College defeated Syracuse to win the NCAA women's lacrosse championship for its first title in program history. The ACC now owns 16 NCAA women's lacrosse championships and has had a team in the national title game 11 times in the last 12 seasons. Finally, Virginia won its second straight NCAA championship in men's lacrosse, marking the 25th title for current league programs, including nine of the last 13 and 14 titles since 2000. In addition, the league recorded 24 individual national titles, a conference record. Overall, seven ACC schools won a team or individual national title this year. Simply amazing.
As outstanding as the athletic successes were, the league continued to lead its peers with an average graduation success rate of 92 percent. This matched the ACC's GSR average the previous year and was two points higher than the national average. In the sport of football the ACC remains the only conference to have multiple teams register GSR scores 90 or higher every year since 2005.
JIM PHILLIPS: Good morning, and welcome to the 2021 ACC football kickoff. If you're anything like me, you've been looking forward to this event for many months. This is a wonderful opportunity to gather together as we look ahead to the upcoming fall seasons with great anticipation in a hopefully more normal year.
Thanks to each of you for making the effort and taking the time to be with us here in Charlotte. On behalf of our coaches, student-athletes, schools and conference office staff, we sincerely appreciate your interest and your coverage of the ACC.
Each of you are an important thread in the fabric of college athletics, and I want you to know how much I personally appreciate what you mean to this league and how you and the entire ACC family have welcomed me, Laura and our five kids since becoming commissioner.
It's been an honor and privilege to serve as ACC commissioner over the last five months. It is truly my belief that there is no better conference in the country, when you look at the incredible student-athletes, our 15 world-class institutions, our broad-based sports offerings and our commitment to maximizing the educational and athletic opportunities for student-athletes.
I'm so proud to work with the tremendous chancellors and presidents that collectively serve as the ACC board of directors. I'd like to specifically thank Syracuse University chancellor Kent Syverud for his incredible leadership and counsel as the outgoing chair of the board of directors.
On July 1, Duke University president Vincent Price and University of Louisville president Neeli Bendapudi began their tenures as chair and vice chair respectively. Each will be outstanding leaders as we navigate the 2021-22 academic year.
Since I began my tenure in February, I've appreciated the chance to spend time with and engage with so many people. I'm looking forward to continuing to build upon those relationships with our countless student-athletes, coaches, administrators, league partners and with each of you.
Speaking of relationships, last night we were able to enjoy a wonderful evening celebrating our former commissioner. John Swofford has been invaluable to me since my appointment and is a true gentleman and a giant in college athletics. For more than five decades he served the ACC in many different roles, including the last 24 as commissioner. His transformational leadership has meant so much to this league, and he really is the gold standard of commissioners.
Over 225 current and former administrators, staff, bowl and television partners and friends were in attendance as we honored John and his beautiful wife Nora. In addition to our previous announcement that the Swofford name would be added to the league's annual postgraduate scholarship, we shared the news that beginning this year, the ACC Football Championship Game Most Valuable Player will annually receive the John Swofford Award.
There is a tremendous appreciation in this league and nationally for what John Swofford has meant to college athletics and as a friend to so many of us. Laura and I are so appreciative of our friendship with John and Nora. They represent everything that's right in college athletics and in this world.
John knows that I'll never let him get too far away from the ACC, and he's just a phone call away for me.
I'm looking forward to answering your questions a little bit later, but first I'd like to express some sincere gratitude, share some thoughts on my first five months, and address some of the timely topics affecting college athletics in our country.
As all of you are well aware, the pandemic created unprecedented challenges over the last 15 months. To say last year was unique was certainly an understatement, and we continue to owe a debt of gratitude to the countless front-line workers who have unselfishly sacrificed and put themselves in harm's way to serve others. My sincere thanks to all of our heroes.
Led by the extraordinarily and tireless efforts by the ACC medical advisory group, whose work continues, our schools safely and successfully managed athletics in a pandemic. Watching the resiliency, commitment and sacrifices of our student-athletes was inspiring, and the adaptability and communication by our coaches and administrators created a successful blueprint of effectively working together.
There's not enough credit given to our student-athletes, coaches and administrators for what they were able to accomplish this past year, so on behalf of the entire conference, let me say thank you.
What makes this past year's achievements even more incredible is that our student-athletes and programs shined while facing so many challenges. As we just witnessed here on the screen, the league crowned a champion in all 27 of our sponsored sports, and 10 different institutions won ACC Championships. ACC teams also won five NCAA team championships.
Virginia won the league's first-ever national title in women's swimming. Notre Dame won fencing, making it three of the last four national titles for the Fighting Irish. North Carolina took home its third straight field hockey title and the 21st for the ACC, including 14 of the last 20. It was an All-ACC final when Boston College defeated Syracuse to win the NCAA women's lacrosse championship for its first title in program history. The ACC now owns 16 NCAA women's lacrosse championships and has had a team in the national title game 11 times in the last 12 seasons. Finally, Virginia won its second straight NCAA championship in men's lacrosse, marking the 25th title for current league programs, including nine of the last 13 and 14 titles since 2000. In addition, the league recorded 24 individual national titles, a conference record. Overall, seven ACC schools won a team or individual national title this year. Simply amazing.
As outstanding as the athletic successes were, the league continued to lead its peers with an average graduation success rate of 92 percent. This matched the ACC's GSR average the previous year and was two points higher than the national average. In the sport of football the ACC remains the only conference to have multiple teams register GSR scores 90 or higher every year since 2005.
