ACC Commissioner Vows to Fight Lawsuits by FSU and Clemson

Cal entering the ACC amid turmoil as two top football programs want freedom to depart,

ACC

Greetings Cal, Stanford and SMU.

Welcome to the embattled Atlantic Coast Conference.

Conference commissioner Jim Phillips kicked off four days of ACC football media days in Charlotte, NC, by addressing head on the lawsuits filed by ACC members Florida State and Clemson related to their efforts to depart the league for greater TV money elsewhere.

Phillips called lawsuits filed by FSU and Clemson “extremely damaging, disruptive and harmful” to the league, according to the Associated Press.

FSU and Clemson, the ACC’s two most powerful football programs, presumably want to seek membership in the Southeastern Conference and have legally challenged the ACC’s ability to charge hundred of millions of dollars in exit fees.

They are challenging the ACC’s grant-of-rights media agreement that gives the conference control of media rights for any school attempting to leave during the duration of the TV contract with ESPN that extends through 2036.

The ACC has counter-sued those schools to enforce the agreement in a legal dispute with no end in sight, the AP wrote.

Phillips, who became ACC commissioner in 2021, said the conference is adamant in its intention to keep the league solvent.

“I can say that we will fight to protect the ACC and our members for as long as it takes,” Phillips said. “We are confident in this league and that it will remain a premier conference in college athletics for the long-term future.”

ESPN's Pete Thamel added this item Monday morning, suggesting a move by Florida State and Clemson is not imminent.

Have been told by multiple sources that there’s no expectation for Florida State or Clemson to notify the ACC they intend to leave by the Aug. 15 deadline to depart after the upcoming year. That’s the deadline to declare intentions to exit for the 2025-26 year.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) July 22, 2024

Here’s how the AP explained the origins of the disputed grant-of-rights issue:

“The grant-of-rights provision, twice agreed to by the member schools in the years before the launch of the ACC Network channel in 2019, is designed to deter defections in future realignment since a school would not be able to bring its TV rights to enhance a new suitor’s media deal. That would mean hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, separate from having to pay a nine-figure exit fee.”

Phillips said not a day goes by where the conference office isn’t forced to devote time and energy to the lawsuits. But he doesn’t believe that will distract from the upcoming football season.

“We’ve had six months of disruption. I think we've handled it incredibly well,” he said.

Cal, which takes its turn at media day on Tuesday, plays at Florida State in its ACC opener on Sept. 21. The Bears do not face Clemson in 2024.