The court battle between the ACC and Florida State (and Clemson, to a lesser extent) has drawn a lot of headlines over the last year and a half.
The threat was that Florida State would leave the conference to earn more revenue elsewhere. But according to Florida State athletic director Mike Alford, the Seminoles never said they wanted to leave the conference.
“We’re in the league the last time I looked,” Alford told Matt Hayes of USA TODAY Sports during the Sports Business Journal Intercollegiate Forum. “We never said we wanted to leave the league.”
That’s a stark contrast to the legal battles that have unfolded over the last year.
Florida State Board of Trustees had very strong words for the conference at a BoT meeting in August of 2023.
“I think FSU at some point will consider leaving the ACC unless there is a radical change in ACC revenue distribution,” FSU President Richard McCollough said.
A couple of Florida State trustees took it even further.
“A solution under the current TV deal very unlikely. Leads us to what’s next? The alternative for us staying in this conference for the next 13 years is death by a 1,000 papercuts. Waiting is not the answer,” trustee Justin Roth said. Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported that Roth also said Florida State needs an exit plan in the next 12 months.
“It’s not a matter of if we leave, but how and when we leave,” trustee Drew Weatherford said.
Florida State sued the ACC last December over media rights and a withdrawal fee, as the Seminoles attempted to force their way out of the conference. FSU wanted to exit the conference without paying the buyout fee or its remaining media rights, which would cost over $500 million.
Even if Florida State had managed to exit the conference — with or without paying an exorbitant amount of money — there wasn’t a guaranteed landing spot.
After reports of the Big 12 having interest in Florida State and Clemson surfaced in July, Brett McMurphy of Action Network reported that the Seminoles would likely not have a place in the Big Ten or SEC should they force their way out of the ACC and the conference survives.
It’s no secret that the ACC is lagging behind the Big Ten and SEC in terms of television deals and revenue generated and distributed amongst member schools, and it makes sense that programs would like the security and benefits that come with being in the “Power Two.”
But with the expensive and complicated Grant of Rights, a television deal locked in until 2036, it still seems very unlikely that either Florida State or Clemson will be able to exit the conference in the near future.
While the ACC is involved in countersuits with both Florida State and Clemson, who sued the ACC in December and March, respectively, Pitt is content. Pat Narduzzi said during the ACC Football Kickoff that those lawsuits haven’t impacted his program all that much. The Panthers’ focus is on the field – not what’s happening in courtrooms in the south.
“I feel bad for the commissioner. He’s got a hard job. He’s a tremendous ambassador for the Atlantic Coast Conference,” Narduzzi said. “It’s probably been distracting for him, but not distracting for me.”
Florida State could still try to exit the ACC (coming off a 2-10 season), but it still doesn’t appear likely.
