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AD Graham Neff comments on report of Clemson potentially leaving ACC with UNC for SEC
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- AD Graham Neff comments on report of Clemson potentially leaving ACC with UNC for SEC
CLEMSON — Clemson and Florida State settled their legal disputes with the ACC on June 3, allowing member schools a favorable path to exit the league to more lucrative pastures if they decide to depart.
Clemson has never declared it is leaving the conference, even during its litigation, but it could depart with a new school: UNC. Inside Carolina reported July 22 the Tar Heels and the Tigers could be the first two ACC schools to leave for the SEC when the next round of realignment happens.
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Clemson athletic director Graham Neff spoke with local media Aug. 5 and isn't ready to go that far anytime soon despite the favorable settlement.
"Very pleased with the outcomes of meeting our objectives of the future, certainly around our media rights and current financial position," Neff said. "All that to be said, continue to lean in hard to the ACC. A strong ACC is good for Clemson, and a strong Clemson is good for the ACC."
Neff's statement mirrored UNC chancellor Lee Roberts' comments.
"Delighted that the settlement was reached. It's a good thing for the conference," UNC chancellor Lee Roberts said July 31 to local reporters. "We are a proud member of the ACC, a founding member of the ACC. We've been a member of the ACC since 1953, so over 70 years now. As always, we'll do what's best for Tar Heel athletics and for the university as a whole."
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Both schools are content in the ACC now, but there is a pathway for them to depart thanks to the settlement, which created a new exit fee schedule while retaining future media rights.
The current ACC exit fee is around $165 million in fiscal year 2026. The new exit fee schedule will reduce the withdrawal penalty by $18 million per year, until it reaches a floor of $75 million during the 2030-31 fiscal year. Schools must file an official notice by June 1 for withdrawal to be effective on June 30 the following year.
MORE: 4 Clemson football 2026 commits shut down attempts to flip them. What it means for Dabo Swinney
For example, if Clemson files for withdrawal on June 1, 2026, it must pay $147 million to leave the conference on June 30, 2027.
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When the floor exit fee of $75 million comes in 2030, it will be around the same time when TV deals for the Big Ten (2029-30), Big 12 (2030) and the College Football Playoff (2031) will be up for renewal. Clemson will have the flexibility to determine its next move, but Neff isn't committed to a departure date if the Tigers choose to leave.
"I can't admit that there's a circle or anything on that. I think there's some naturality to that," Neff said. "That, sure, makes a lot of sense, but that's certainly not necessarily the mindset leading up to or even beyond that."
If Clemson leaves the ACC, it will have its media rights too. Per the settlement, any departing member school will retain its future TV rights. Originally, the conference argued it would retain any exiting member's rights until the end of the current grant-of-rights agreement in 2036.
The league's grant of rights was seen as "ironclad," guaranteed it could not be broken or taken back, but Clemson and FSU's litigation, then collective settlement, showed that isn't the case.
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Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Conference realignment: Graham Neff on Clemson potentially leaving ACC
