Clemson has filed a lawsuit against the ACC
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Clemson believes the ACC holds their Grant of Rights only while they are a member of The ACC, to fulfill their contractual obligation to ESPN. Once they leave, they claim they can take their Media Right with them. A different approach than Florida State.
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The end result will be a settled agreed payment in exchange for withdrawal from the conference (and retention of the media rights by the leaving schools).
Also, lawyers will bill lots and lots!
Also, lawyers will bill lots and lots!
ACC just needs to internally laugh, but long term prep for their exit. I mean at least the ones who want to leave are publicly outing themselves. I would already be on the phone with UCF and West Virginia to talk about them coming on in the future, when it makes sense. And obviously Cincinnati when necessary.
Likewise, if I'm the Big 12, I'm already talking to Oregon State and Washington State.
They are just throwing shlt against the wall.
At some point, yes. But FSU & Clemson can’t afford to pay a settlement yet. Maybe in 5 years.
Their attorneys should face sanctions if that’s their basis for suing. 0% chance they win on that.
Exactly. It's going to be another 5 years or so. I don't think either the SEC or Big 10 is in any real hurry to add more teams now anyway. I think they're perfectly happy to wait while they digest the teams they're adding next year. And ESPN certainly has no incentive to pay more money for what they already have at a bargain price. At some point, the price to negotiate a buyout will come down to something FSU, Clemson, UNC and maybe UVA and/or NC State will be able to manage. When that happens, the final round of realignment will happen.
They’ve been wanting to make a B1G move.
Their main focus the past several years has been AAU membership.
Do they have the academics to get in the Big 10? I thought the Big 10 took that more seriously than the SEC.
There are so many ways this thing can go, and I don't think much of it is based on anything deeper than sheer TV money and petty competition. That's why you see aTm bltching and trying to get into the B1G.
I see a lot of positives for Clemson in the B1G (less immediate competition, academic standing, the 'uniqueness' while being in SEC/ACC country). And I do think the B1G would take them, as someone in the B1G recently lose AAU status (maybe Nebraska), and plus they are actively looking to acquire it.
But the SEC makes so much sense as well, culturally. But it's not about that anymore. Brands are evolving. And of course, the stupidity of in-state fighting from South Carolina, just like Florida/FSU, whatever. So dumb, but it'll happen.
Not to mention the absolute retardation of Stanford and Cal being in the ACC instead of the B1G. Wouldn't that make more sense? And then everybody stop at 20. That's the most teams you can make a reasonable schedule with anyway. I mean if this thing is about TV money only, the conferences are about already too big.
There are now 2 ACC teams with lawsuits and each of them probably know more about the possibilities than anyone on this board. If there wasn't at least a slight chance they would not have laid their dix on the table. There are only 2 or 3 teams in that conference that have the power to do that.
It's more that they've got nothing to lose by filing a couple of lawsuits that have <10% chance of winning in court. Worst thing that can happen is they're stuck where they're stuck anyway. And hey, a <10% chance is better than no chance.
They’re much closer to having the academics to get in the B1G (#86 according to US News) than they are being at MSU’s level (#216).
They’re a few years away to being a mainstream B1G school but they’re well above Nebraska right now.
Wall Street Journal names Clemson best in South Carolina, top 25 public institution
Clemson University is among the top 25 public institutions in America, according to recent Wall Street Journal/College Pulse rankings.
news.clemson.edu
I wonder how much buyers regret the Big 10 has over Nebraska.They’re much closer to having the academics to get in the B1G (#86 according to US News) than they are being at MSU’s level (#216).
They’re a few years away to being a mainstream B1G school but they’re well above Nebraska right now.
Wall Street Journal names Clemson best in South Carolina, top 25 public institution
Clemson University is among the top 25 public institutions in America, according to recent Wall Street Journal/College Pulse rankings.
Oh. I’m sure there is some remorse.
And I’m sure Nebraska would wonder what life in the Big 12 would be like without Texas too but the Cornhuskers don’t mind the money.
"Clemson has filed a lawsuit against the ACC"
Aw shucks, did somebody say something mean about Howard's Rock or Dabo again?Yeah, I'm pretty sure every time Nebraska wonders if they could have maybe won more games in the Big 12, they look at that paycheck and are happy to be where they are.
I feel confident Virginia and North Carolina will be next to file suit and sooner than later. It will not take 5 years. Virginia is definitely B1G material and Carolina would be more likely to B1G than the SEC. The ACC could survive with Rutgers or West Virginia + UCF, USF, Cincinnati added to replace UNC, Virginia, Clemson and FSU.
I don’t think either FSU or Clemson expects this to get settled tomorrow. But they are filing now to go ahead and start the inevitable legal battle as early as possible to give themselves a runway to an early exit. If it takes until 2030 for them to win the suit outright (which would effectively end the ACC as we know it) or reach a settlement for a much lower buyout….its still a huge win for both of them.
Its comical that the ACC is continuing this hardline stance, knowing full well that its going to lead to a complete destruction of the league and non-inclusion in the CFP autobids. But here we are.
Agree on first paragraph. What else can the ACC do though? Let them go and face reduced TV revenues starting now, or hold on to them & the revenues as long as they can? Either way, the remaining schools are going to be in a much diminished conference. Only question is when. At some point, I’m guessing in 5 years, it’ll make sense for both sides to come to a settlement.
Nebraska was headed downhill no matter what conference they were in. Power 5 that’s. Better to align with the B1G brand.
It’s hard for a 90s kid to say, but Nebraska is no longer considered a national caliber program in the least. Their 25 year time clock is up. The days of Prop 48 and 4 star walk ons are over.
Well, one thing they could have done is actually stick up for their members, and leveraged the Stanford / Cal / SMU additions into a much more favorable deal with ESPN that actually pays the current market value to the conference. The deal that current members got is slightly better than what they had, but only at the expense of those 3 schools taking almost nothing in terms of payouts, and its not nearly close to enough to compete with the Big 2, or even most of the Big 12 for very long.
I think they did the best they could. Cal & SMU essentially add nothing. I know it gets them into TX & CA, but nobody there (or anywhere) cares about those teams. Really surprised Stanford couldn’t get a better deal though. ACC is just in a real tough spot, both short term & long term. I expect they’ll wind up pretty clearly behind the Big 12 when it’s all said & done.
I think Stanford could have done well on its own but I wouldn’t be surprised if they took the lead on making sure that both them and Cal had a conference.
They’re each other’s rivals (Stanford’s Athletic Department phone number is 800-BEAT-CAL) and that also means that they’re kind of vested in each other too. A strong Cal is good for the Cardinal.
If they can get AAU membership, that's generally been the bar for the Big 10.
One thing I'm thinking about in all of this is the reduced media payout that Washington and Oregon took to join the Big Ten. That tells me that the Big Ten's media partners may not be open to more addition. I understand that Clemson (or any of the other ACC schools) would almost certainly get a better deal in the Big Ten than the ACC, but I'm not sure Fox, NBC, and CBS are willing to pony up more money right now for an already crowded Big Ten media window. I'm also not sure how keen Disney/ESPN is to pay $40-$50 million more per year apiece for Clemson, Florida State, UNC, and Virginia home games if they were to join the SEC.
I'm also not sure how the new CFP payout works completely. It definitely seems to be on a conference by conference basis, but I don't know if it's a lump sum for each conference for the teams to split or if it's pro-rata to each member. For example, is it $336 Million to the SEC and Big Ten or is it $21 Million for each member of the SEC and Big Ten? If it's the former, then every SEC or Big Ten school would have to take a $1.1 Million pay cut for each school added to their conference.
I'm not sure adding Clemson, FSU, UNC, or UVA is going to be worth it to the existing memberships or media partners of those schools.
I'm also not sure how the new CFP payout works completely. It definitely seems to be on a conference by conference basis, but I don't know if it's a lump sum for each conference for the teams to split or if it's pro-rata to each member. For example, is it $336 Million to the SEC and Big Ten or is it $21 Million for each member of the SEC and Big Ten? If it's the former, then every SEC or Big Ten school would have to take a $1.1 Million pay cut for each school added to their conference.
I'm not sure adding Clemson, FSU, UNC, or UVA is going to be worth it to the existing memberships or media partners of those schools.
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I think one thing the Big 10 and to a lesser degree the SEC is going to find it that it's not as easy to manage a league with this many teams as they think it is. Especially one as geographically large as the Big 10.
It gets them TV exposure windows across 3 different time zones instead of just one - as all other ACC teams are on Eastern time. Also gets them TV exposure in the 2 most populated states in the country.
I’d say that by itself is immensely valuable for the TV contract. It just feels like they made yet another hasty decision to add teams for the sole purpose of protection / short term survival, and just took the best deal they could get from ESPN as quickly as they could so they could get it voted through. A golden opportunity that they pissed away because they were scared of those teams getting snapped up by someone else, or the deal falling through, instead of leveraging it to get a revision to the existing contract. All of which was EXACTLY what they did when they hastily signed the original GOR in the first place. Fools never learn.
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LOL. I looked this up to be sure. I like it. And they say State and ole miss are obsessed with each other.
This isn’t going to go on until
2036, or 2030 for that matter
www.espn.com
2036, or 2030 for that matter
ACC files countersuit vs. Clemson, seeks damages
The ACC countersued Clemson on Wednesday in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, arguing that the school is subject to the grant of rights and withdrawal penalty it agreed to as a league member, while also seeking monetary damages.
www.espn.com
And now UNC BOT chairman speaks
www.wralsportsfan.com
Could UNC exit ACC? Key official says league is failing Tar Heels, other top teams :: WRALSportsFan.com
With Florida State and Clemson filing lawsuits against the ACC, all eyes are on the University of North Carolina's next moves.
www.wralsportsfan.com
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