AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — When John Swofford got word ESPN laid off 100 employees as part of a massive budget cut, the Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner got on the phone immediately with ESPN President John Skipper.
The cuts came less than a year since ESPN and the ACC announced a 20-year partnership along with the launch of the linear ACC Network in 2019. Swofford, who has seen the ACC through two expansions and the rise of its football status on the national landscape, needed immediate reassurance that there would be no issues in the two partners starting the new network on time or otherwise.