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In the ongoing legal battle between Clemson University and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the Tigers appear unlikely to bolt their home of the past seven decades … at least for now.
Clemson is unlikely to notify the ACC of its intention to depart the conference prior to August 15, 2024 – the deadline for departing prior to the 2025-2026 athletic year.
That means the Tigers will remain in the ACC for at least the next two seasons.
Previously, this outlet reported that Clemson had sued the ACC over television rights and the exit fee it would have to pay if it left the conference early. Clemson has referred to the conference’s $140 million penalty as “unconscionable” and “unenforceable.”
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The Tigers aren’t the only program with conference drama. Last December, Florida State filed a similar lawsuit in Leon County citing a “draconian” $572 million price tag purportedly imposed by the ACC in the event it were to leave the conference.
The day after Clemson’s lawsuit was filed, the ACC submitted a countersuit in Mecklenburg County, N.C. – where its headquarters are located. Earlier this month, S.C. circuit court judge Perry Gravely denied the ACC’s motion to move the case to the Tar Heel State – saying he believes Clemson has established a case for specific jurisdiction.
Clemson is a founding member of the ACC, which formed in 1953. Florida State joined the conference in 1991.
News of the two schools’ purported plans was first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
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Have been told by multiple sources that there’s no expectation for Florida State or Clemson to notify the ACC they intend to leave by the Aug. 15 deadline to depart after the upcoming year. That’s the deadline to declare intentions to exit for the 2025-26 year.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) July 22, 2024
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Last week, Clemson angered the conference – and ESPN – by refusing to play its rivalry football game with South Carolina on Black Friday (November 29, 2024) as opposed to that Saturday.
Since then, the bad blood has escalated. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips pulled no punches this week at the conference’s annual kickoff event when he addressed the drama swirling around Clemson and FSU.
“With multiple ongoing legal cases, there are limits to what I can say,” he noted. “But I can state that we will fight to protect the ACC and our members for as long as it takes. We are confident in this league and that it will remain a premier conference in college athletics for the long-term future.”
Phillips said the legal battles with Clemson and FSU were “overshadowing our student-athletes and the incredible successes taking place on the field and within the conference.”
“These disputes continue to be extremely damaging, disruptive, and incredibly harmful to the league,” he said, adding that the conference and its collective membership “deserves better.”
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As for the disagreements over television rights, Phillips said “every member of this conference willingly signed the Grant of Rights and unanimously, and quite frankly, eagerly agreed to our current television contract and the launch of the ACC Network.”
Where would Clemson go in the event it were to depart the ACC?
So far the SEC and Big Ten have made it clear they are not interested in adding the Tigers. But the Big XII could be a possibility. Its commissioner, Brett Yormark, is certainly bullish on its future.
“We solidified ourselves as one of the top three conferences in America,” Yormark said earlier this month. “There has never been a better time than right now to be part of the Big 12. We are truly a national conference in ten states, four time zones and all eyes are now on the Big 12 for all the right reasons. I think it’s safe to say we are more relevant now than ever before.”
The Big XII lost its top two schools to the SEC this year, but moved swiftly to add Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.
“I will not stop until we’re the number one conference in America,” Yormark added.
Could Clemson be a part of the Big XII’s future? Stay with FITSNews as we chronicle all of the latest developments in what is clearly a transformative era for college athletics.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Erin Parrott is a Greenville, S.C. native who graduated from J. L. Mann High School in 2021. She is currently a senior at the University of South Carolina majoring in broadcast journalism. Got feedback or a tip for Erin? Email her here.
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