ACC filed lawsuit against FSU Board of Trustees prior to vote to challenge Grant of Rights

In a fascinating turn of events, it’s been revealed the Atlantic Coast Conference filed a lawsuit against the Florida State Board of Trustees on Thursday, before news broke regarding the Seminoles’ voting unanimously on Friday to challenge the ACC Grant of Rights, per Alison Posey of WCTV.

The wheel continues to spin, as the ACC and the Florida State’s Board of Trustees go at it, with the latter looking to move on from the conference. Evidently, the ACC heard wind of a potential vote from Florida State (who filed a legal complaint in Tallahassee circuit court against the ACC on Friday) and decided to get ahead of things.

#BREAKING: The Atlantic Coast Conference has filed a lawsuit against the Board of Trustees that was filed yesterday in Mecklenburg County.

On page four, the ACC claims that “Florida State matters regarding the ACC are subject to the jurisdiction of the state of North Carolina.” pic.twitter.com/6zsYojB8wN

— Alison Posey (@AlisonPosey14) December 22, 2023

According to Posey, the ACC claims that “Florida State matters regarding the ACC are subject to the jurisdiction of the state of North Carolina.”

After the news hit the airwaves, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports relayed that an ACC spokesperson confirmed to him that the decision to file on Thursday was in a response to Florida State’s “clear intention to take action.”

“ACC spokesperson confirms to @YahooSports that the league proactively filed a declaratory action Thursday in defense of the Grant of Rights, the conference and each of its members in light of Florida State’s clear intention to take action,” Dellenger posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

After Florida State took action on Friday, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips and Chair of the ACC Board of Directors Jim Ryan released a swift rebuke of the Seminoles’ actions.

Moreover, the ACC believes they have a leg to stand on, as the duo said in a joint statement that the ACC believes the Grant of Rights will stand up in court.

“Florida State’s decision to file action against the Conference is in direct conflict with their longstanding obligations and is a clear violation of their legal commitments to the other members of the Conference. All ACC members, including Florida State, willingly and knowingly re-signed the current Grant of Rights in 2016, which is wholly enforceable and binding through 2036. Each university has benefited from this agreement, receiving millions of dollars in revenue and neither Florida State nor any other institution, has ever challenged its legitimacy. 

“As a league, we are proud of the successes of our student-athletes and that the ACC has won the most NCAA National Championships over the past two and half years while also achieving the highest graduation success and academic performance rates among all FBS conferences, so it is especially disappointing that FSU would choose to pursue this unprecedented and overreaching approach.

“We are confident that the Grant of Rights, which has been honored by all other universities who signed similar agreements, will be affirmed by the courts and the Conference’s legal counsel will vigorously enforce the agreement in the best interests of the ACC’s current and incoming members.” 

Alas, it’s evident this could be the start of a battle between Florida State and the ACC that lasts for some time. We’ll see what’s next for the Seminoles and the conference they’ve called home for quite some time.