College football realignment: Florida State calls special board meeting

Florida State's brass has scheduled a meeting this week and it's believed to be centered around whether the school can challenge its conference grant of rights

Florida State has scheduled a special meeting of its board of trustees for Friday morning, where it is believed the school will discuss in detail the future of its athletic program, and insiders believe the Seminoles' future in the ACC will be addressed in what could be the next move on the college football realignment front.

No official reason was given for the meeting, but there has been some speculation over the last several months that Florida State has been interested in leaving the ACC, culminating in a statement from FSU president Richard McCullough saying that the school was not happy with its current financial situation in the conference. 

The announced meeting comes three weeks after the Seminoles became the first undefeated conference champion to be left out of the College Football Playoff.

Many inside the school have been displeased with the ACC for several reasons, including an ever-larger gap between its revenue and that of other conferences, and the school's general position in the college football and sports landscape.

Florida State is not happy

It has been known for some time that Florida State was not pleased with the financial situation in the ACC. This offseason, it was revealed to be one of the so-called "Magnificent Seven" schools that were scouting a possible exit from the ACC's grant of rights agreement that expires in 2036.

The ACC responded by announcing a plan to direct revenue in a different way going forward, revealing an "incentive initiative" in the hopes that it would satisfy those schools. Judging by McCullough's comments, it doesn't appear that will be enough.

Even so, it remains a question how exactly Florida State, or any other ACC school, could leave the conference.

No school has ever legally challenged the league's grant of rights agreement, which legal experts have called just about impossible to get out of, although FSU has had its own legal counsel look over the document for any possible loopholes.

This story is developing

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