There has been a great deal of rumour and speculation surrounding the Florida State Seminoles and where they would go if the left the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
There has been a great deal of movement among universities in recent years with several leaving one conference to join another.
While the final location was unknown, FSU was not happy with the monetary distribution of funds earned through television media rights.
Also at issue was the amount of money the ACC required for a team to leave conference.
In the end the Seminoles sued the ACC; later the University of Clemson joined the suit.
After some back and forth between the universities and the ACC, a settlement has been reached.
While there may be some instability down the road; at least for now the conference is stable and a bit more equitable with the richer Southern and Big Ten conferences.
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips issued a statement saying, “today’s resolution begins the next chapter of this storied league and further solidifies the ACC as a premier conference. The settlements, coupled with the ACC’s continued partnership with ESPN, allow us to focus on our collective future — including Clemson and Florida State — united in an 18-member conference demonstrating the best in intercollegiate athletics.”
The ACC Board of Directors which is comprised of the member university’s presidents and chancellors, and the trustees from FSU and Clemson agreed on a settlement.
Items included in the settlement include the incorporation of TV viewership and rating. as a determining factor in the distribution of revenue – 60 percent of the money earned from televised games will go toward distribution among conference teams with the remaining 40 percent being distributed equally among the teams.
The new distribution format could see one team’s revenue increase as much as $15 million while a lesser viewed team could lose as much as $7 million.
In what Phillips refers to as “aggressive efforts” to generate more conference revenue, California, Stanford, and SMU are now members of the ACC and teams who earn post season play will now keep any revenue generated from those games.
Clemson athletic director Graham Neff noted, “at the end of the day, this innovative distribution model which further incentivizes performance and investment will help strengthen the ACC. A strong ACC is good for Clemson. And a strong Clemson is good for the ACC.”
Any university that wishes to leave the ACC will have to pay $165 million in 2026; but the fee would diminish by $18 until it reaches $75 million in 2030. Any school who chooses to leave the ACC will also maintain their own media rights.
The current contract with the ACC runs through 2036.
ESPN has exercised its option to extend the media right agreement through 2036 – a $600 million a year deal.
Former Seminole quarterback Drew Weatherford and FSU trustee noted, “I got hundreds of emails and text messages and phone calls from friends and people I didn’t know over the last 13 months encouraging us in this journey and I’m proud of where we’ve landed. We made some commitments 14 months ago to make sure we could do everything in our power to compete at the highest level, and I think we’ve done that here.”