Conference Realignment: Graham Neff says Clemson is in a good spot nationally

Neff says that Clemson is in a great spot in the world of college athletics.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Nov 25 07:00:06 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Clemson is a “great” member of the Atlantic Coast Conference right now, but Athletic Director Graham Neff admitted earlier this week that he acts daily on college athletics’ dynamic and changing landscape.

Oklahoma and Texas will start play in the SEC next season, Southern Cal and UCLA will start play in the Big Ten, and the ACC will welcome new members Cal, Stanford, and SMU to the league. However, leagues like the ACC are now behind the Big Ten and the SEC in media rights revenue, and that gap is expected to increase.

Neff said there is active dialogue to ensure that Clemson is in the best position moving forward.

“We talk with everybody internally and externally… just to be well positioned and well read,” Neff said. “There’s just so many moving aspects of collegiate athletics. That active dialogue, internally and externally, remains to be very present. And I think Clemson, not unlike many others, is very connected and very active in those conversations and would expect to be so.

“So, we’ll have very candid conversations internally and externally within the landscape and expect that to continue going forward. There’s no mile marker or anticipatory ‘here’s finality.’ It’s just a changing, dynamic landscape.”

He then said that he thinks Clemson is in a great spot in how it is viewed nationally.

“I couldn’t be more confident and more proud of how Clemson is viewed nationally, and again, so much work goes into that at all levels in the alignment that we talk about so much – from our board of trustees, President (Jim) Clements of course, who is so well read and engaged and networked in college athletics and what that means for Clemson, let alone the industry,” Neff said.

“So that alignment that we talk about often, it is really so critical when it relates to institutional decisions… as the changing landscape of college athletics is. And when we talk about that, it means a whole lot more than just conference affiliation – collegiate athletics model, football, CFP scheduling we talked about, and all the things. So, that consistent communication and strategy and alignment is something that really shows through, and I think we are so well positioned and really differently in that regard.”

He didn’t rule out changing conferences if that is what is best for Clemson long-term.

“We’re going to continue to do what’s best for Clemson. And to be incredibly well-read on all things landscape, network, contacts at all levels,” Neff said. “We have consultants and support that we look to do that, and it’s my job to continue to position us and to be connected and to be nimble and strategic as it relates to the changing landscape.”

For right now, however, the Tigers are in the ACC.

“We are great members of the ACC, and we’re going to continue to be great members of the conference that we’re in. That’s really important. That means day-to-day, in meetings and in strategy and football scheduling, all of those things. How we talk about that publicly, like I’m doing here and otherwise,” Neff said. “We have a lot of staff and coaches and public meetings that are really important, that we’re aligned and being great members of the conference we’re in. That’s our obligation as Clemson. We have a duty to help raise the value of our conference and the ACC, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do while looking out and doing what’s best for Clemson.”