The ACC has asked a North Carolina court for an injunction against Florida State to ban the university from participating in all conference affairs due to the school’s ongoing attempt to withdraw from the league’s Grant of Rights agreement.
The move is the latest in what is shaping up to be a messy divorce between the ACC and Florida State, which joined the conference in 1991.
In new motions filed Wednesday, the ACC addended its lawsuit in a North Carolina court to ask for an injunction against Florida State, accusing the school of having “a direct and material conflict of interest” with the conference.
The league alleges that Florida State released confidential information (deemed “trade secrets”) between the conference and television partner ESPN when it held a public Board of Trustees meeting on December 22. Florida State filed legal actions against the ACC in Leon County, Florida that same day.
The ACC initially filed suit against Florida State on December 21. In doing so, the league asked a North Carolina court to proactively declare the ACC’s Grant of Rights clause a legally binding contract.
Florida State’s lawsuit seeks to challenge the validity of the Grant of Rights clause — and the $130 million “withdrawal fee” that would come from FSU leaving the conference before June 30, 2037, when the Grant of Rights is set to expire.
Florida State has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the ACC’s media rights deal in comparison to those of other conferences, namely the SEC and Big Ten, and has threatened on multiple occasions to leave the ACC.