ACC Calls Florida State's Lawsuit A 'Direct Conflict' and 'Clear Violation Of Their Legal Commitments'

The ACC has issued a response after Florida State filed a lawsuit against the conference.

Florida State filed a 38-page lawsuit against the Atlantic Coast Conference in Tallahassee Circuit Court on Friday morning. The complaint brought forth by outside legal counsel, which argues multiple missteps by the conference and its Grant of Rights agreement, was unanimously approved by the university's Board of Trustees and publicly supported by President Richard McCullough and Athletic Director Michael Alford.

Shortly after the suit was officially filed in court, the ACC issued a response through Commissioner Jim Phillips and the Chair of the Board of Directors, Jim Ryan. Interestingly, these comments are a lot longer than what he had to say after the Seminoles were snubbed from the College Football Playoff a few weeks ago.

“Florida State’s decision to file action against the Conference is in direct conflict with their longstanding obligations and is a clear violation of their legal commitments to the other members of the Conference. All ACC members, including Florida State, willingly and knowingly re-signed the current Grant of Rights in 2016, which is wholly enforceable and binding through 2036. Each university has benefited from this agreement, receiving millions of dollars in revenue and neither Florida State nor any other institution, has ever challenged its legitimacy.

“As a league, we are proud of the successes of our student-athletes and that the ACC has won the most NCAA National Championships over the past two and half years while also achieving the highest graduation success and academic performance rates among all FBS conferences, so it is especially disappointing that FSU would choose to pursue this unprecedented and overreaching approach.

“We are confident that the Grant of Rights, which has been honored by all other universities who signed similar agreements, will be affirmed by the courts and the Conference’s legal counsel will vigorously enforce the agreement in the best interests of the ACC’s current and incoming members.” 

The Seminoles are taking action due to a growing revenue gap that will prevent the program from competing with teams in the SEC and Big Ten. The path was expedited after Florida State became the first undefeated "Power Five" Conference Champion to be excluded from the College Football Playoff in favor of a current SEC team (Alabama) and future SEC team (Texas).

FSU plans to challenge the ACC's Grant of Rights for a number of alleged missteps, including Violation of Florida Law, Breach of Contract, Breach of Contract, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Fundamental Failure of Contractual Purpose, and Unconscionability and Violation of Public Policy.

The full lawsuit can be viewed HERE.

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