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Florida State’s football team flew to Ireland on Wednesday night in preparation for Saturday’s season opener against Georgia Tech in Dublin. But the school’s legal representatives spent time this week meeting with officials from the ACC for a court-mandated mediation surrounding FSU’s efforts to leave the conference.
There was no immediate resolution to their litigation. Representatives for the ACC and FSU did not immediately respond to a request for comment about this week’s mediation.
FSU isn’t the only school embroiled in litigation with the ACC, though. Clemson is also using lawsuits to determine whether it can explore leaving the conference. Their sticky situations are making for an awkward start to the conference’s first year expanded to 17 members. And it may not end anytime soon.
Just Getting Started
FSU, Clemson, and the ACC will likely be duking it out in court for the entire football season, if not longer. After all, the schools’ demands seem hard to compromise on: FSU wants to be able to leave the conference without paying more than $100 million in exit fees—and Clemson, at the very least, wants the opportunity to do so. The ACC wants them to either stay or cough up the cash.
Neither FSU nor Clemson informed the ACC of their intention to leave in 2025 by an Aug. 15 deadline imposed by the conference.
In the past, schools and conferences have been able to privately renegotiate exit fees and end their relationships relatively amicably. These situations, however, are different. If FSU or Clemson prevail, it could put the league’s entire future at risk by deeming the contracts binding it together invalid. The ACC, therefore, appears to have no real motivation to settle.
Don’t Look Away
FSU enters the season ranked 10th in the AP Top 25 poll, and Clemson is 14th, with a high-profile matchup against No. 1 Georgia to kick off its season next weekend in Atlanta. Both football programs have a chance to be in the running for a spot in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, which should keep their legal fights with the ACC in the limelight throughout the fall.
