Florida State and Clemson's lawsuits against the Atlantic Coast Conference continue as the future of both schools' conference allegiance remains in flux.
With continued rumors of conference expansion and a possible denial from the SEC and Big Ten, FSU and Clemson are suing the ACC over media rights agreements as both schools look to exit the conference and look for a new one.
Long-standing rumors surrounding a potential jump to the Big Ten have surrounded FSU's litigation. However, reports from Action Network's Brett McMurphy said the Big Ten and SEC are ready to freeze out the Seminoles in any potential exit, leaving the question, what's next?
FSU ACC lawsuit: What's the current status, what's next?
The first thing to address is the current litigation between the two schools and the conference, which has now turned into a multi-state battle that includes appeals, attorney general involvement and countless hours of court hearings.
As things stand, the initial case brought forward in Leon County is moving forward after three hearings resulted in Leon Circuit Judge John C. Cooper denying the ACC's motion to dismiss the case.
The most recent development in FSU's case is the interim protective order that allows the school to view the ESPN Agreements, which have been at the center of arguments in the Leon County court hearings.
The ACC has handed over unredacted agreements to the school, which they had offered to do in court multiple times under a protective order, which keeps them from being public records. The school can now analyze and use the agreements in the court case, with the agreements adding more context to the dispute over media rights.
There has been no notable update or filing since the order.
In Florida's First District Court of Appeals, a judge has denied the ACC's motion to stay the case, meaning the school's lawsuit will proceed in court. There has been no ruling in the conference appeal of a "judicial foul" committed by Judge Cooper.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a lawsuit against the ACC, demanding the ESPN contracts be made public record. On Wednesday, July 17, the ACC and Attorney General announced an agreement to make redacted copies of the contracts public record, ending the lawsuit.
In North Carolina court, FSU's appeal of the decision to deny the school's motion to dismiss the ACC's lawsuit by Mecklenburg County Judge Louis A. Bledsoe III awaits a ruling. Judge Bledsoe has granted a motion to stay, or pause, the original case filed in Mecklenburg County by the ACC as the school and conference work through the North Carolina Supreme Court appeal case.
Clemson ACC lawsuit: What's the current status, what's next?
Similar to FSU, Clemson and the ACC are locked into a multi-state legal battle in both North Carolina and South Carolina.
In North Carolina Court, Clemson and the ACC are moving forward in the legal case after Bledsoe ruled that the future ownership of the Tigers media rights should be ruled upon in court after denying the school's motion to dismiss.
Bledsoe wrote in his opinion the only court that has jurisdiction over the ACC, FSU and Clemson is the North Carolina court, meaning a fair ruling on the contracts in dispute should come from North Carolina.
As he did in the FSU case, Bledsoe ruled that Clemson waived its sovereign immunity because it had agreed to a contract ratified in North Carolina and made millions in revenue with ACC media agreements. Clemson has appealed Judge Bledsoe's rulings.
Bledsoe did deny the ACC claims that the school breached its contractual duties and he also denied the conference's statement that Clemson owes the ACC fiduciary responsibilities.
In South Carolina Court, Clemson's lawsuit against the ACC will continue after Judge Perry H. Gravely ruled on July 12 that the school proved the conference could be sued outside of North Carolina. The judge cited the broadcasting of games in the state as the ACC doing business in South Carolina, applying jurisdiction to South Carolina, a similar view Judge Cooper took in Leon County.
A notable recent update from the case came from Clemson's legal team as a now previously redacted portion — due to its potential of containing trade secrets — of an April 17 filing has been unredacted.
Pointing to the word "is" in the ACC's ESPN agreements, the legal team argues the agreements only apply when a school is presently a member of the ACC.
Clemson's legal team said the present tense wording of "is" means the agreement doesn't apply if a school, like Clemson, was to leave the conference. This has been the primary argument from the Tigers lawyers during proceedings.
The legal team also says the agreements don't mention the media rights of a school that "was" a member of the ACC, with the legal team arguing the conference owns the rights of Clemson's broadcast while in the ACC, not if it leaves.
However, the ACC remains confident in its interpretation of the agreements and its application to schools looking to leave the conference, as it has said in hearings in North Carolina, South Carolina and Leon County.
What conference could FSU, Clemson join? Chances on Big 10 or SEC?
With the reports from McMurphy suggesting FSU could be out of potential expansion talks with the Big Ten and SEC due to a lack of expansion appetite and mixed feelings about the lawsuits, one Big Ten source did tell the Action Network reporter "Who knows," regarding expansion.
What is known is that both FSU and Clemson have until Aug. 15 to announce intentions to leave the ACC following the 2024-25 season, and subsequently officially negotiate a landing spot in a new conference.
So what's next?
Truthfully, the answer remains unknown.
While rumors and reports come out that the Big Ten and SEC are interested in, or disinterested in expansion, those who know the future of both programs remain tight-lipped, especially considering the schools legally cannot negotiate a new conference home while still a member of the ACC.
As legal proceedings continue between both programs and the ACC, expect any conversations about potential conference changes to be held under strict confidence to avoid tampering allegations.
Should the Seminoles and/or Clemson head to the Big Ten in a potential move down the line, it will continue the expansion trend from the conference that saw Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA jump from the Pac-12 to joining the historically midwestern-based conference.
An important point for a move to the Big Ten is both FSU and Clemson's membership status with the Association of American University (AAU). Both programs currently do not have membership, FSU has been attempting to join the association for years but has been unsuccessful so far.
Every conference school had membership at the time of joining the Big Ten, Nebraska currently doesn't but did when it joined. AAU membership is not a requirement to join, but seemingly a silent agreement among conference leadership and schools as the Big Ten values academics.
Moving to the SEC would continue the narrative of college football heading to a two-conference power system. The SEC recently added Texas and Oklahoma to the conference and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said the conference isn't currently looking at expansion at SEC media days.
The public denial doesn't fully rule out a move to the conference, but it does remain unlikely one or both FSU and Clemson end up in arguably college football's most famous conference. During his media day appearance, Sankey said he pays attention to what happens outside of his conference, but he remains committed to the 16 teams currently in the SEC.
Could Florida State or Clemson actually ... stay in the ACC?
A return to the ACC or joining the Big 12 remains unlikely for both programs, but certainly not impossible. While the litigation between the ACC and the two schools will certainly impact relationships should FSU and Clemson remain in the conference.
They are still members until 2036 as the Grant of Rights states, and can compete in the conference as long as both parties agree to do so.
The Big 12 recently expanded with the additions of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State, and conference commissioner Brett Yormark stated the Big 12 was a top three conference in the nation during his media day appearance last week. He said the conference isn't currently seeking expansion unless the right situation presents itself.
Reports surfaced that there is a possibility that FSU and Clemson could join the Big 12, but that seems an unlikely outcome, for now at least.
The landscape of college football continues to seemingly change by the day thanks to NIL, the transfer portal, new legislation that allows schools to pay players like employees, and of course, conference realignment and TV money.
FSU and Clemson's lawsuits against the ACC are just another example of the changing climate that currently shapes the landscape of college athletics and the uncertainty of what the future holds.
Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
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