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Discontent within the league continues to surface as ACC spring meetings get underway
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- Discontent within the league continues to surface as ACC spring meetings get underway
Will mediation help Florida State and the Atlantic Coast Conference negotiate a settlement or resolution to their high-profile lawsuit?
Where does Clemson stand in its lawsuit against the ACC?
And what's going on at North Carolina?
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While discussions about lawsuits are not on the agenda at the ACC spring meetings that started Monday at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, discontent within the league remains.
There are five lawsuits ongoing:
FSU vs. the ACC; the ACC vs. FSU; Clemson vs. the ACC; the ACC vs. Clemson; and the lawsuit filed by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody against the ACC seeking to make public the ESPN-ACC television contract as part of the Seminoles' case.
UNC Board of Trustees to take look at athletics budget
On Monday, television station WRAL in Raleigh, North Carolina, reported UNC's trustees have decided to meet behind closed doors this week to discuss the performance of UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham and the Tar Heels' athletics budget that calls for a $17 million deficit in 2024-25.
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Trustee Dave Boliek was named in the report from WRAL as a member who is pushing for UNC to leave the ACC and join a new conference.
"I am advocating for that," Boliek said.
"That's what we need to do. We need to do everything we can to get there. Or the alternative is the ACC is going to have to reconstruct itself. I think all options are on the table."
UNC Board of Trustees Chairman John Preyer told the television station in March that the ACC was failing its top schools, including North Carolina.
FSU, of course, is pushing to exit the ACC and find a more lucrative landing spot.
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The Seminoles have been mainly linked to th e Big Ten and SEC, though both conferences have appeared to indicate they are not discussing further expansion.
Last month in Leon County, Judge John C. Cooper ordered FSU and the ACC to begin mediation in their litigation with 120 days.
ESPN reported the two sides have been unable to agree on a mediator, so Cooper granted an extension until May 31 to choose one.
Still, a mediator can't force an agreement, so the case could end up back in court.
In the ACC's case against FSU in North Carolina, Judge Louis Bledsoe denied its motion to dismiss. FSU has said it will appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court, and no court date has been set.
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FSU, Clemson looking to negotiate reduced exit fee to leave the ACC?
Clemson and the ACC, meanwhile, also are continuing their litigation against each other.
A Pickens County, South Carolina, judge ordered an interim ruling on May 3 that the ACC must provide an unredacted copy of its ESPN contract to Clemson within seven days. But the contract must remain confidential and only be used for litigation.
The ACC doesn't allow copies of its grant of rights to protect confidentiality and trade secrets.
FSU has been loud and vocal about the ACC falling further behind the Big Ten and the SEC in payouts even while sharing record revenues around $40 million annually.
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Additionally, recent reports that payouts from the newly expanded CFP will not be distributed evenly, again leaving the ACC behind the Big Ten and SEC.
And since last year's spring meetings, the ACC has added Stanford, California and SMU to the conference.
While business and league strategies are expected to be discussed during the three-day meetings, ongoing lawsuits within the ACC will linger in the background.
Florida attorney Kevin Paule told the Greenville News t hat using litigation is one way for schools like Clemson to "try to, perhaps, negotiate a reduced exit fee or some sort of settlement" with the conference.
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He added "the strategy for the schools and for the conference is to move forward as quickly as possible in the state where you brought your suit and hope that you get the first ruling before there's a ruling elsewhere. But, it's certainly possible that you could have — if this were to go the distance — a situation where you have different results in different courts."
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: ACC spring meetings underway as FSU and others raise concerns about future
