ACC accuses Florida State of breaching contract and disclosing ‘trade secrets’ in amended lawsuit

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Atlantic Coast Conference accused Florida State of breach of contract Wednesday, saying the Seminoles broke promises when they legally challenged an agreement that binds the school to the league for the next dozen years. The ACC initially sued the Florida State Board of Trustees in North Carolina in late December, asking a court to uphold the grant of rights as a valid and enforceable contract. After months of threats and warnings, Florida State sued the league in Leon County Circuit Court and claimed the ACC mismanaged its members’ media rights and imposed “draconian” exit fees. During its time in the ACC, Florida State won three football national championships, the most recent in 2013, and made the first College Football Playoff in 2014. However, the first sentence of Florida State’s claim states: “The stunning exclusion of the ACC’s undefeated football champion from the 2023-2024 College Football Playoff in deference to two one-loss teams from two competing Power Four conferences crystalized the years of failures by the ACC to fulfill its most fundamental commitments to FLORIDA STATE and its members.” Florida State leaders believe the ACC locked its members into an undervalued and unusually lengthy contract with ESPN that leaves the Seminoles’ athletic programs at a massive disadvantage against schools in the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference, which have TV deals that pay more over a shorter period of time.