Well, realignment is back again… I’ve purposely stayed away from the speculation during the football season, and it’s been refreshing.
Unfortunately, some news can’t be ignored, and rampant legitimate reports of FSU readying to challenge the Grant of Rights can’t be ignored.
There’s a lot of nonsense to sift through, but @ADavidHaleJoint reasonably speculates the future of the situation.
1) This is a first step. It’s a HUGE step, to be sure, but it’s still a first one. There’s almost no world in which FSU is not a part of the ACC in 2024 and, probably, 2025.
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(@ADavidHaleJoint) December 21, 2023
2) There are 3 possible court outcomes. The 1st is that the GoR is unenforceable for whatever reason. There’s actually no real legal precedent here, so it’s possible, and FSU is set free. The 2nd is the GoR is ironclad, and ACC owns FSU’s media rights thru 2036.
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3) This is not the end of the ACC. Will other schools follow FSU’s lead? I’d imagine so — and I’d guess many are eager to see what comes of FSU’s challenge — but it’s in the best interest of the large majority to stay put, be patient and see where this ends.
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3) Adding Cal, Stanford & SMU was largely viewed as an insurance policy for exactly this scenario. The ACC’s TV contract has membership minimums, which due to the additions of those 3 schools, are not in danger.
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So, even w/o FSU, remaining schools aren’t going to lose TV $ (or network) under current agreement. That’s good news for the remaining schools. It also could underpin part of FSU’s legal argument to be released without financial restitution.
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And if that’s the case, how best to position yourself ahead of time? I’ve talked to numerous ADs at “mit-tier” schools who’ve said their chief concern is to be ready for “what comes next.” Very few seem to think status quo is maintained beyond next 3-5 years.
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So now we wait… We also wait on ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips to wake up from hibernation and speak on literally anything.
*Edit*
Since this posting on the morning of 12/22, FSU has went forward with legal action according to ESPN, only to find that the ACC pro-actively filed their own suit the day before.
#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
