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On Friday, FSU put months of speculation to rest when it announced its intentions to file a lawsuit against the ACC in an attempt to leave the conference prematurely. However, it turns out their foe managed to beat them to the punch.
Over the past year or so, there’s been plenty of speculation that Florida State was gearing up to leave the ACC due to its displeasure with the current state of the conference, and the fact that the Seminoles were excluded from the College Football Playoff after finishing the regular season with an undefeated record made that development a foregone conclusion.
With that said, it sure seems like FSU is facing an uphill battle due to a grant of rights that would force it to pay a massive penalty if it attempts to leave for greener pastures prior to 2037. An attorney hired by the school asserts it would be forced to fork over $572 million in order to depart, which is more than half of the university’s current endowment.
While there are some insiders who’ve claimed FSU has discovered a legal loophole that will allow them to wriggle their way out of the current deal, the fact that the school hasn’t come forward to say what it is has made plenty of people skeptical that’s actually the case.
The ACC, on the other hand, would be dealing with an existential crisis if it lost one of its most valuable brands and appears to hold all the leverage, so while plenty of people who are cheering for FSU in the dispute seem to believe there will be some sort of settlement, that current seems like a fairly bold assumption given the current state of affairs.
The Seminoles are obviously hoping to get a friendly judge to hear their case in Florida, but according to Alison Posey of WCTV, the ACC filed a lawsuit of its own on Thursday that argues all matters related to the conference need to be heard in a court in North Carolina.
#BREAKING: The Atlantic Coast Conference has filed a lawsuit against the Board of Trustees that was filed yesterday in Mecklenburg County.
On page four, the ACC claims that “Florida State matters regarding the ACC are subject to the jurisdiction of the state of North Carolina.” pic.twitter.com/6zsYojB8wN
— Alison Posey (@AlisonPosey14) December 22, 2023
At this point, it’s far too early to even attempt to declare a potential victor in what promises to be an incredibly drawn-out legal battle where the only real winners will be the lawyers on both sides. However, it’s going to be very interesting to see how this all plays out.