Can Florida State, ACC salvage things after lawsuits? Good luck.
AMELIA ISLAND — Florida State athletic director Michael Alford politely answered the direct, nine-figure question Tuesday that will decide the future of the ACC and his Seminoles.
Is there any way their relationship is salvageable?
“We’ll just wait and let it play out,” Alford said after Day 2 of the ACC’s spring meetings at The Ritz-Carlton. “We’ve had great partners in this conference, great relationships, but at the end of the day we’ve got to do what’s best for Florida State and look at the changing environment of collegiate athletics and make sure we’re there to be successful.”
A key word missing from his answer: Yes.
Alford, of course, has to be careful with every word he does say. That’s a product of the ongoing dueling lawsuits between FSU and the ACC that are — to borrow Alford’s phrase — playing out in Leon County and North Carolina. FSU has argued it should be able to exit the league for free. The ACC wants the contracts FSU agreed upon to be enforced. The difference is only as much as $700 million, depending on who’s doing the math.
Alford reminded reporters Tuesday that neither he nor the school’s president, Richard McCullough, have ever said, “We want to leave the conference.”
But both administrators have come pretty close. McCullough said in August that FSU will have to eventually “consider very seriously leaving the ACC” unless the revenue changes radically. Alford said more or less the same thing 15 months ago: “Something has to change moving forward.”
If anything has changed enough to satisfy the Seminoles, Alford forgot to mention it Tuesday. In fact, the ACC’s financial situation has worsened in the last few months. Big Ten and SEC schools will receive millions more than ACC schools under the new College Football Playoff revenue distribution model. Alford admitted the split was frustrating. His goal remains fielding an athletic department that can challenge for championships in football, of course, but also soccer, golf, softball and everything else.
And that leaves Alford fielding questions about FSU’s exit strategy (he declined to comment) and a potential timeline for this standoff’s resolution (he didn’t have one).
“We’re just letting the court proceedings play out,” Alford said.
How long that will take is anyone’s guess. The sides are still litigating about where they’ll continue litigating. A case management conference in the Leon County case is set for Tuesday.
As the court process unfolds, Alford said the meetings are business as usual. The conversations remain the same — things like how to market the conference better and how to boost revenue. Alford was never asked to leave a room so his peers could discuss the litigation. Men’s basketball coach Leonard Hamilton said no one mentioned the lawsuits to him, either.
“There is no ill will inside the room or anything like that in any discussions,” Alford said. “It’s 100% professional, and we talk about the issues that’s going on in collegiate sports.”
Just, apparently, not one of the biggest issues: How to salvage a 33-year relationship between one of college football’s largest brands and one of its four remaining major conferences.
If it’s salvageable at all.
• • •
Sign up for the Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.
Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on Instagram, X and Facebook.
