Mike Norvell calls Florida State's relationship with ACC 'great'

Relations have been a bit testy out east amidst conference realignment conversations. With what all has gone down out west, the ACC would appear to be the obvious next domino in the order if it weren’t for their lengthy media rights deal.

Still, for as outspoken as some leadership at Florida State has been, Mike Norvell says it has nothing to do with his Seminoles on the field. As he reminded everyone to end his media availability at FSU’s practice today, the focus of their program is currently on camp and preparing themselves for a high-profile season.

“I know there’s always going to be outside things. But, from our program, we’re focused on preparing for fall camp, we’re preparing on getting better today,” said Norvell.

As far as realignment conversations, Norvell leaves that to the powers at be in Tallahassee. He has full faith in their calls on that matter considering how they and others have handled business since his arrival.

“Like I said, we’ve got a wonderful administration, we’ve got a great university, got unbelievable support. It’s a wonderful place to be,” Norvell said.

It’s not quite clear which direction the ACC is going in at the moment. Some people at Florida State were speaking about their eventual departure just a week or so ago yet the league is now appearing to vet options like Stanford, Cal, and SMU.

Regardless of their intentions, unrest remains in the ACC. That’s the case even though their deal has them locked in for more than another decade. As Norvell said, though, that’s not something that’s currently on his plate considering his goals for this season and how he presently views their relationship with the league, especially with how their 30-plus year history within it has gone.

“My focus right now is preparing this team to go be the best that we can be this year,” said Norvell.

“We’ve got a great relationship with the ACC,” Norvell said. “You look at our past and the legacy we have within the ACC? It’s one that’s respectable and it’s one that, obviously, we’re working to go this year and be able to push to be at the top.”

Greg McElroy explains what the latest wave of realignment means for Florida State, rest of ACC

There has been plenty of movement with conference realignment so far this offseason, but as of yet, nothing has happened with Florida State or the ACC.

On ‘Always College Football’, Greg McElroy recently explained what the latest wave of realignment means for FSU, Clemson and the rest of the league.

“With these moves already being made, if you look at the ACC? There is a big, significant date. The ACC schools have to notify the ACC of them potentially leaving the conference,” McElroy said. “That date is just seven days from now, on August 15^th.  Keep an eye on that date.”

There is an exit fee for leaving, as well as the Grant of Rights, the FSU must sort out. The Seminoles must also have an offer from another conference in order to leave.

“You already heard a little bit about what Florida State did. Florida State, by their estimation, they need to pay a $120 million exit fee. And they have to come up with a strategy to get out of their Grant of Rights,” McElroy said. “Now, I don’t know about Florida State’s financial situation. But $120 million seems like an awful lot. So what did they decide to do? They went and hired JP Morgan Chase. They went and hired private equity, to maybe help them figure out a way to bridge the gap from their inevitable exit in their eyes.”

While some schools, such as Clemson, have stayed quiet about their future, FSU has taken a much different approach.

The Florida State Board of Trustees met last week and members were extremely vocal about wanting out of the ACC.

“These are not my words. You listen to Drew Weatherford last week, who’s on the board at Florida State. They said, ‘It’s not a matter of if we leave the ACC, it’s a matter of when and how.’ So that’s not my words. That’s their words,” McElroy said. “How do they get to that $120 million number? And can they get there earlier? And if they can, is it Big Ten or is it SEC? So a lot that still could be meant for the ACC schools, especially here in the next [seven] days.