Florida State’s Board of Trustees took the first step of leaving the ACC today, with members voting unanimously to legally challenge the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Grant of Right agreement.
“Today we’ve reached a crossroad in our relationship with the ACC,” FSU Board of Trustees chair Peter Collins said. “I believe this board has been left no choice but to challenge the legitimacy of the ACC grant of rights and its severe withdrawal penalties”
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FSU outside council David Ashburn laid out what FSU will argue to challenge the Grant of Rights, among them:
- The ACC’s exit fees and Grant of Rights penalty violate Florida antitrust law
- The GOR presents an unenforceable penalty
- Breach of contract
- Breach of fiduciary duty
- Violation of Public Policy
- Fundamental failure of contractual purpose
Several new bombshell pieces of information came to light during today’s meeting
- The ACC is not guaranteed any television revenue after 2027 — something that was unable to be known unless members took the time to fly to Charlotte and review the locked-down contract.