Welcome to Part 2 of our ACC mailbag with Brendan Marks, Grace Raynor and Manny Navarro.
Thanks for all of the great questions. We tried to stick to actual football in Part 1, which ran Friday. Today, we focused mostly on the off-the-field issues dominating the conversation.
What happens to the ACC if both FSU and Clemson announce this summer they’re leaving the conference, effective June 30, 2025? — Todd K.
Before we dive into all of these questions regarding departures and realignment, let’s declare Chris Vannini’s ACC vs. FSU and Clemson story required reading as background.
Florida State “made it perfectly clear” in a legal filing Wednesday it “intends to leave” the ACC, according to Jim Henry of the TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT.
For the first time in a legal document, the Seminoles “included language that made their intentions clear.” In several different paragraphs in the 10-page filing, attorneys used language that said “after FSU exits the ACC.
” FSU, in the document, did “not indicate where it might land conference-wise” following its exit from the league. While it always “seemed unlikely” that a compromise might emerge that keeps the school in the ACC, that does not “appear to be the case any longer even if there’s a negotiated settlement” (TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT, 3/28).
ON3.com’s Ira Schoffel wrote in the Seminoles’ original complaint and amended complaint, both filed in recent months, the new language “was not used.
” Multiple sources “made it clear” at the time that the university was not “shutting the door on staying in the ACC — if, for instance, the league’s television revenue distribution model was reconfigured to reward Florida State and other schools that bring in the highest TV ratings.” Such a move “always seemed extremely unlikely.” Now, it appears to be “removed from consideration” (ON3.com, 3/27).
HIDING DATA: In Tampa, Matt Baker writes FSU is “accusing the ACC of a ‘hide-the-ball’ game” involving its confidential contracts with ESPN.
FSU’s counsel “points to several instances” where, the latest filing contends, the ACC has “participated in ‘mischief.’” The issues stem, in part, from the fact that the ACC and ESPN say that their TV contracts “are confidential,” so they “go to great lengths to shield them from public view.
” But the terms “are relevant to this half-billion-dollar dispute.” The ACC has argued it had a “contractual obligation to defend its contracts,” even if that meant suing FSU.
But the part of the contract that spelled out its obligations had “not been shared with the court,” and FSU “called them ‘never-before-seen contract terms.
’” FSU argues the language of those now-seen terms is “murkier than the ACC let on, so the ACC’s defense is murkier, too” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 3/28).
According to a report by the Hattiesburg American, after Southern Miss’ first fall camp scrimmage, Tate Rodemaker has the edge at quarterback.
He is competing with two other signal callers for the QB1 spot. In that report, they mentioned that Rodemaker completed 10 of 16 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns during the scrimmage. It sounds like Rodemaker will lead the Golden Eagles’ offense in 2024.
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