ACC

Florida State Announces Lawsuit Against ACC

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Florida State has announced that it is suing the ACC to challenge the conference’s “grant of rights” and the prohibitive $130M withdrawal fee imposed on members. “I believe this board has been left no choice but to challenge the legitimacy of the ACC grant of rights and its severe withdrawal penalties. None of us like being in this position. However, I believe that we have exhausted all possible remedies within the conference and we must do what we believe is best for Florida State not only in the short term but in the long term,” board chair Peter Collins said in a statement.

The move thrusts the Seminoles, and the ACC, into uncharted waters. The ACC has previously described its grant of rights as “ironclad” and no school has ever challenged it. Upon receiving word of the lawsuit, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips lamented Florida State’s decision. “Florida State’s decision to file action against the Conference is in direct conflict with their longstanding obligations. This is a clear violation of their legal commitments to the other members of the Conference. All ACC members, including Florida State, willingly and knowingly re-signed the current Grant of Rights in 2016, which is wholly enforceable and binding through 2036. Each university has benefited from this agreement, receiving millions of dollars in revenue and neither Florida State nor any other institution, has ever challenged its legitimacy,” Phillips said.

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Why Is Florida State Suing The ACC?

The Seminoles has spent the last year growing increasingly vocal about their discontent with the ACC. Revenue gaps, revenue distribution, and the conference’s overall standing in college athletics have all been raised as issues. However, the tipping point was the school’s exclusion from the College Football Playoff. The Seminoles were left out in favor of Alabama. Furthermore, the primary reason given was that the SEC is a stronger conference than the ACC.

At the state level, Florida has bristled at the exclusion. Governor Ron DeSantis asked the state legislature for $1 million in their new budget. The intention is to use the money to sue the NCAA for excluding Florida State from the College Football Playoff. Furthermore, the state AG Ashley Moody also launched an investigation into the CFP committee. “I’m a lifelong Gator, but I’m also the Florida attorney general, and I know injustice when I see it. My office is launching an investigation to examine if the committee was involved in any anticompetitive conduct,” Moody said in a video filmed on Florida State’s campus.

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Florida State Calls Special Board Meeting In Wake Of CFP Snub

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Florida State’s board of trustees will meet for a special meeting tomorrow morning. While no formal topic was announced for the meeting, sources told ESPN that the topic at hand will be the school’s long-term athletic future. This will likely include a discussion to whether challenge the ACC’s “grant of rights”, potentially allowing Florida State to join another athletic conference.

Under the ACC’s “grant of rights”, schools are locked into the conference until the expiration of their media deal with ESPN in 2036. However, Florida State has spent the last year growing increasingly vocal about their discontent. Revenue gaps, revenue distribution, and the conference’s overall standing in college athletics have all been raised as issues. However, the tipping point was Florida State’s exclusion from the College Football Playoff. The Seminoles were left out in favor of Alabama, with the primary reason being that the SEC is a stronger conference than the ACC.

Read More: Angel Reese Returns To Baltimore In Hometown Sellout

Ron DeSantis Threatens To Sue The NCAA Over Florida State Snub

Meanwhile, Ron DeSantis asked the Florida state legislature for $1 million in their new budget. The intention is to use the money to sue the NCAA for excluding Florida State from the College Football Playoff. “My first-grader, my fifth-grader, and my preschooler – they are all Noles. They are big-time fans and they do the tomahawk chop and they were not happy. We are going to set aside $1 million and let the chips fall where they may,” DeSantis told the chamber. However, it’s largely a symbolic gesture. The college football season will be decided long before the budget is ratified.

Furthermore, the state AG Ashley Moody also launched an investigation into the CFP committee. “I’m a lifelong Gator, but I’m also the Florida attorney general, and I know injustice when I see it. No rational person or college football fan can look at this situation and not question the result. The NCAA, conferences and the College Football Playoff committee are subject to antitrust laws. My office is launching an investigation to examine if the committee was involved in any anticompetitive conduct. As it stands, the committee’s decision reeks of partiality, so we are demanding answers — not only for FSU, but for all schools, teams and fans of college football. In Florida, merit matters. If it’s attention they were looking for, the committee certainly has our attention now,” Moody said in a video filmed at Florida State’s stadium.

Read More: Florida State Basketball Coach Wants March Madness Doubled

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ACC Adds Stanford And Cal, Officially Killing Pac-12

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The presidents and chancellors of schools in the ACC voted Friday (September 1) to admit Stanford, Cal, and SMU to the conference in 2024. This brings the east coast powerhouse to 18 full members, with 17 participating in football. However, the move also officially kills any hope that the Pac-12 brand would live on. Stanford and Cal were two of the four remaining Pac-12 members following a mass exodus earlier in the summer. While some discussions were had about rebuilding the Pac-12, it appears that the two prestigious colleges had other ideas. Previous votes had failed. However, NC State flipped their vote to support the move.

“We are thrilled to welcome three world-class institutions to the ACC, and we look forward to having them compete as part of our amazing league. Throughout the evaluation process, the ACC Board of Directors, led by [University of Virginia] President [James] Ryan, was deliberate in prioritizing the best possible athletic and academic experience for our student-athletes and in ensuring that the three universities would strengthen the league in all possible ways. Cal, SMU and Stanford will be terrific members of the ACC and we are proud to welcome their student-athletes, coaches, staff and entire campus community, alumni and fans,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said in a statement.

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Pac-12 Dies As ACC Grows

As mentioned, the move leaves the Pac-12 as the Pac-2 heading into 2024. The only teams left in the conference at the time of writing are Oregon State and Washington State. Those schools had been in talks with the AAC, also known as The American. However, per ESPN‘s Pete Thamel, those talks have broken down as a result of the news coming out of the ACC.

It’s the latest move towards collegiate football adopting a superconference model. The Big 10 and ACC will have 18 schools apiece in 2024. Meanwhile, the SEC and Big 12 will each have 16 schools from next year. If the two remaining Pac-12 schools join the nearest conference, the Mountain West, they will push league membership. All this comes as the collegiate football season kicks off in earnest over the next few days.

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