Florida State, ACC to begin mediation talks next week, settlement remains longshot

Florida State and the ACC are set to begin mediation talks next week, according to Yahoo! Sports.

The beginning of conversations between the two parties comes after Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper ordered the school and the conference to attempt “good faith” mediation to resolve the dispute back in April. A 120-day deadline to complete mediation, the deadline to meet the order is Aug. 20. If a settlement is not reached, the parties will request a trial date.

The ACC declined to comment on mediation.

Speaking with a source, the belief is nothing has changed in the relationship between the school and its conference entering the court-ordered mediation. The talks producing a settlement at this point are not expected.

The news comes as next week’s deadline approaches for schools in the ACC to provide a one-year notice to leave the conference. A source close to the ACC’s lawyers previously told On3 a settlement is not on the table and there is not a clear end in sight. The ACC is not expecting Florida State and Clemson to notify the league they intend to leave by the Aug. 15 deadline.

Mediation will not decide an outcome but could include a deadline. An arbitrator is brought in when the court orders a decision.

“I can state that we will fight to protect the ACC and our members for as long as it takes,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said at his league’s media days last month. “We are confident in this league and that it will remain a premier conference in college athletics for the long-term future.

Florida State is seeking to leave the ACC without paying an exit fee and the cost of buying out its remaining media rights. Attorneys previously estimated it could cost upwards of $500 million to buy out its rights back and leave the ACC.

There are four ongoing lawsuits against the conference: the ACC vs. Clemson; the ACC vs. Florida State; Clemson vs. the ACC; and Florida State vs. the ACC. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced in July she secured an agreement from the ACC’s attorneys to provide media rights contracts at the center of the legal battle.

Documents released by Moody confirmed that ESPN can end the ACC’s media rights deal in 2027. The document cites the need for written notice to the ACC “no later than two (2) years after the launch of date of the ACC-ESPN Network” about ESPN’s plans to pick up the option. The ACC and ESPN launched the ACC Network in 2019.

In August 2021, Phillips signed an amendment regarding the extension option. The specifics of the amendment are redacted, but as Warchant’s Ira Schoffel wrote, that’s where Florida State argued the new date is February 2025.

Many of these lawsuits have been centered around landing access to the ACC’s contracts with ESPN. Florida State and Clemson have argued the league’s contracts are invalid.

“He [Phillips] kind of inherited it from [former ACC commissioner] John Swofford,” a senior TV source recently told On3. “He didn’t make that deal. If you really look through the contents of what Clemson and Florida State have filed, a lot of it is aimed at the preceding administration. Now, Phillips, he’s got a tough hand to play here.

“… You never want to be in litigation with your own schools. And yeah, the schools have signaled that they want out. I don’t know what he could possibly do to change that picture. He’s not going to go to ESPN for more money now.”