How ACC could make college football could go towards 'Power Three,' per ESPN

The ACC could cause college football could head towards a “Power Three” model, according to ESPN’s Heather Dinich. Currently, there are the “Power Five” conferences, but the Pac-12 was decimated amid realignment.

With Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah went to the Big 12 and Oregon and Washington were the latest teams to join the Big Ten, along with USC and UCLA. With four teams left in the Pac-12, the conference is almost assuredly out of the “power” conferences and the ACC could be next, per Dinich.

“It depends on what happens in the ACC, Greeny,” Dinich said on Get Up. “That’s where all eyes in college athletics are right now because Florida State’s president was very vocal recently about saying ‘give us more money or we are out.’ It was a public squeeze but it came at a time when the rest of the collegiate landscape was so volatile.

“So it was also raising their hand saying ‘hey, if you want to take us we’ll go,’ but they don’t have any options right now. No offers or invitations from the SEC or the Big Ten.” 

However, Dinich didn’t rule out more realignment involving Florida State or other ACC schools in the near future.

“That doesn’t mean it won’t happen,” Dinich said. “And I can tell you there are other schools in the ACC that feel the same way as Florida State, but have a different approach. Now you have to remember, it costs $120 million in an exit fee to leave that conference early. They have a grant of rights that goes through 2036. 

“The question is, can they get private equity, which is something they’ve been talking about to help pay for that exit fee? And are they willing to go to court? Some sources say yes they are. So keep an eye on the ACC. This isn’t over, but people want to go where the money is Greeny. So to answer your question, yes, you can certainly wind up with three conferences at some point.”

Path exists for Florida State to exit ACC

High-profile sports lawyer Tom Mars proposed a radical, scorched-earth option for the Seminoles.

Mars tweeted that the ACC Grant of Rights does not contain a “choice of law” provision, which would theoretically allow Florida law to apply to a dispute over Florida State. A “choice of law” provision would normally spell out the jurisdiction for legal disputes and which state laws governing a contract among multiple parties in different jurisdictions — they’re a fairly common provision.

Without that governing provision, the Florida state legislature could get involved in a matter before the Florida courts and shield the school from liability. “Assuming Florida law would apply to a dispute with FSU, the Florida legislature could arguably do what Texas did to Mike Leach and make FSU immune from liability for breach of contract,” Mars said.