It has been a year of bold talk for Florida State University. We'll find out soon if that talk dovetails into a historic legal challenge.
In February, FSU officials put the ACC on alert, with athletic director Michael Alford declaring "something has to change" for Florida State to remain a consistent national contender despite the ACC's money gap when compared to the SEC and Big Ten. In August, school president Richard McCullough said the school will "very seriously" consider leaving the league unless there were radical changes to the league's revenue distribution model.
Since the regular season ended, FSU has been issuing scathing statements by officials at every level directed at the College Football Playoff. That includes Alford calling the decision to exclude the undefeated Seminoles "unforgivable."
Florida State has now called a board meeting for Friday where sources indicate they are expected to begin the process of challenging the ACC grant of rights and, therefore, the school's long-term future in the league.
And that would set the stage for a legal standoff between FSU and the ACC, which could be one of the highest-stakes legal battles in college athletics history. There has been no known legal challenge to a grant of rights. (A grant of rights agreement gives the conference full control over a school's media rights. The ACC currently owns all FSU home game content through 2036.)
The first step would be Florida State officially deciding on a declaratory action to legally challenge the ACC grant of rights. This would trigger the exploration of formally unwinding from the ACC without actually leaving the conference.
It would do so to get a sense of what leaving could look like financially and legally. It is not as drastic as announcing an exit but would signify the university is attempting to find a path.
According to sources, Florida State officials and lawyers have gone to the ACC's office at least a half-dozen times to dissect and analyze the legal language in the league's grant of rights. They are one of many ACC programs that have done so, as copies are not permitted outside league offices.
And while the move won't come with any other schools immediately joining, others are plotting a similar sequence -- explore the legal opportunities of unwinding from the grant of rights, which would likely take months, and then eventually leave the league if that's both financially tenable and there's a safe landing spot.
The words of Florida State's leadership in 2023 and the sport's upheaval since Oklahoma and Texas began bolting the Big 12 for the SEC in summer 2021 have led to the critical upcoming crossroads. And while there won't be an immediate avalanche of programs that follow FSU, it could be the start of bad news coming for the ACC in drip-drip-drip fashion.
Whether it's in days or weeks, FSU's board of trustees is expected to begin a formal vetting and discussion of what they've found in the exploration of the grant of rights.
Here's what they will be considering, with the landscape of college sports again hanging in the balance if and when FSU's actions meet their words.