Florida State’s lawsuit spectacle was full of bluster, but Seminoles’ eventual exit from ACC is inevitable

We knew Florida State wasn’t going to be a member of the ACC in 2036, judging by its recent bluster. But what occurred Friday in a streamed board of regents meeting — FSU announcing an unprecedented lawsuit against its own conference — was bad off-Broadway theater.

That bluster now has more definition, sure. Florida State is suing to extricate itself from a grant of rights contract that it signed — and re-signed — in good faith, but that’s a mere detail when a school’s financial interests are at stake. FSU flexed Friday reminding anyone watching that it is the biggest brand in the ACC.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t bluster.

We already knew Florida State wanted out of the ACC. Now, we know some of its strategy to that end. We also know it’s going to be messy, it’s going to be expensive and it’s going to take years.

Sort of like a version of Florida politics itself.

“The system is broken,” said Drew Weatherford, FSU regent and former Seminoles quarterback. “This is us looking out for ourselves.”

That was a reinforcement of what the gluttony of realignment has wrought. Everybody wants theirs. Now. Get in line, Seminoles.

It only took about 20 minutes after the regents meeting for the ACC to respond.

The lawsuit, the conference quickly noted, was “in direct conflict with [FSU’s] longstanding obligations and is a clear violation of their legal commitments [to the league].”

In other words, hunker down for a long legal battle.

Florida State filed suit against its own conference, but what really changed Friday? The action was so anticipated, it turns out the ACC actually filed suit against FSU a day earlier saying the legal jurisdiction should be in North Carolina, not Florida.

Plus, we knew it was unlikely FSU would remain an ACC…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/florida-states-lawsuit-spectacle-was-full-of-bluster-but-seminoles-eventual-exit-from-acc-is-inevitable/

Author : Dennis Dodd

Publish date : 2023-12-22 20:35:27

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