​Clemson football’s tampering claim against Ole Miss has not been resolved yet, but ACC commissioner Jim Phillips believes there must be action taken when improper behavior from a school happens.”There has to be consequences, and until there’s consequences, then we’ll get similar behavior,” Phillips said July 15 at ACC kickoff in Charlotte, North Carolina.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementClemson coach Dabo Swinney called out Ole Miss and coach Pete Golding on Jan. 23 for what the Tigers coach said was tampering with transfer linebacker Luke Ferrelli.Clemson lost Ferrelli, a Cal linebacker who is the ACC’s defensive rookie of the year, to Ole Miss. He transferred to Clemson on Jan. 7, then reentered the portal on Jan. 16 to transfer to Ole Miss on Jan. 22.Phillips encouraged more coaches and schools to call out tampering, like Swinney did, to help curb the practice.”The best way to hold people accountable is for others to bring forward those types of situations, cases and specific information about what has happened with a particular student-athlete or a particular instance,” Phillips said.1 / 50Dec 27, 2025; Bronx, NY, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney looks on during the first half of the 2025 Pinstripe Bowl against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images(Vincent Carchietta, Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)Swinney said Golding was contacting Ferrelli despite him transferring to Clemson, being enrolled in classes and participating in team workouts.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSwinney stated that Golding texted Ferrelli while he was in class saying, “I know you’re signed. What’s the buyout?” with a photo of a $1 million contract.After Ferrelli informed Swinney of his decision to transfer to Ole Miss, Swinney said he called Clemson athletic director Graham Neff and Phillips, who called SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, and turned the evidence into the NCAA for tampering.Clemson is awaiting the organization’s ruling. Phillips has implored the NCAA and the College Sports Commission to “do their job” to help control tampering.”Tampering is serious, and whether it’s in the league or nationally, those accusations, those are serious things that people are looking at and certainly have to be dealt with,” Phillips said.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMORE: How Dabo Swinney said Clemson football struggles changed Tigers goals for 2026Golding wasn’t concerned about the NCAA’s investigation into his program.”I think a lot of things make headlines,” Golding said May 27 at the SEC spring meetings. “There’s a lot more people involved that everybody might not know. I’m not gonna sit up here and say whatever we did or we didn’t do, was it right or was it wrong?”But, you know, when you go through what we went through (with tampering), and what you’re seeing day-in and day-out, some things you feel like shouldn’t matter that, you know, they’re making a big deal about.”Ad