ACC commissioner digs in for long battle against attempted exits of Florida State, Clemson

For those anxiously awaiting the day Florida State and Clemson join the Big 12 Conference, the biggest hurdle appears to be the ACC digging in for a lengthy legal battle.

According to The Athletic , ACC commissioner Jim Phillips was resolute in addressing the ongoing lawsuits volleying back and forth between the two schools and the league over trying to avoid the $130 million exit fee were they to depart before 2036.

“Every member of this conference willingly signed the grant of rights and quite frankly, eagerly agreed to this television contract,” Phillips said on Monday at ACC Media Days. “... Either you believe in what’s been signed, or you don’t. This conference is bigger than any one school, or schools.”

The ACC set a record with an average $44.8 million distributed to each of its schools in 2022-23 but threatens to fall behind the Big 12 ($44.2 million) in the near future with the addition of four schools from the Pac-12 Conference — Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah — and widen the gap behind the Big Ten ($60.2 million) and SEC ($51.2 million).