UM disinclined to follow Clemson, FSU in waging war vs. ACC. Athletic director weighs in

In the wake of Clemson joining FSU in a legal battle against the Atlantic Coast Conference, the University of Miami is evaluating the situation but hasn’t prepared any lawsuit and has no plans, at the moment, to take the conference to court, a source told The Miami Herald on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, UM athletic director Dan Radakovich reiterated Miami’s intentions to support the ACC in an appearance with WQAM’s Joe Rose on Thursday.

“Here at the University of Miami we are incredibly solid with the ACC,” Radakovich said. “It’s a great conference, provides great structure, access to the College Football Playoff, which is very, very important. We look at our circumstances here with a very orange and green set of glasses saying, ‘Are we in a good spot, growing our football program?’

“We’ve invested in it, brought Mario Cristobal here; he’s establishing an incredible foundation…. The ACC is still one of the Power Four conferences that are part of the College Football Playoff, a very active and vibrant member of that Power Four. We are very proud to be a part of that — a leading brand within the ACC and will continue to be a part of it.”

Clemson’s lawsuit against the ACC on Tuesday caught many by surprise and was viewed as a first step in the Tigers’ expected attempts to exit the league, though Clemson didn’t explicitly state in the lawsuit that it wishes to leave.

In the lawsuit filed in Pickens County, South Carolina, Clemson questioned the legality of the ACC’s Grant of Rights media agreement and exit fees, calling the withdrawal penalty “unconscionable” and “unenforceable.”

Clemson’s suit also said that the ACC’s position that it would control the Tigers’ media rights — if it left the conference — is a “nonsensical reading,” “wrong” and “inconsistent with the plain language of that agreement.”

ACC teams all signed a Grant of Rights agreement in 2013 that runs through 2036, allowing the league to keep each school’s TV revenue even if a school leaves the conference.

But TV revenue for the Southeastern Conference and Big 10 has risen dramatically since then.

UM is among seven ACC schools that sent officials to the conference offices to examine the Grant of Rights deal, which is kept under lock and key. But only FSU and Clemson have sued over the matter.

Clemson asks in the suit for a declaration that the ACC would not own the rights to its games “after Clemson ceases to be a member of the ACC.” Clemson also wants the ACC’s estimated $40 million exit fee to be struck down as “an unenforceable penalty in violation of public policy.”

“I really didn’t see [the Clemson lawsuit] coming at this point in time,” Radakovich said. “Almost every school in the ACC has gone to the home office and looked at the documents and just made sure they understood all the different things associated with the grant of rights, television contracts. I was a little surprised that Clemson did that at this point in time.

“But each of these circumstances are very, very local. Whether you have constituencies on campus making a little more noise that we don’t want to be in a circumstance where we are [at a] disadvantage. I guess Clemson looked at that, said this is an important time to lessen exit fees or [attempt to eliminate] the grant of rights. Same thing with Florida State.”

FSU’s lawsuit, filed last December in Tallahassee Circuit Court, alleges that the ACC breached its contract by failing to create adequate value in media contracts and violated Florida’s antitrust laws. It cited a $572 million penalty for withdrawing from the ACC as “unenforceable.”

The ACC then counter-sued FSU and filed a motion in February to dismiss Florida State’s case.

A UM source said the school is evaluating the situation and could respond differently if FSU and Clemson are somehow able to bolt the conference.

At the moment, UM does not have an invitation to join the Southeastern Conference or Big 10, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. The source said UM would listen if either conference called, but its hands are tied at this point.

The SEC’s and Big 10’s level of interest in FSU and Clemson is unknown, ESPN said this week.

The growing disenchantment of FSU and Clemson stems largely from the widening revenue disparity between the ACC and the SEC/Big 10.

Strategy and analytics consultant Tony Altimore estimated the annual media revenue for teams in the ACC, SEC and Big 10 once the new 14-team College Football Playoff deal kicks in, in 2026.

From 2026 through 2030, he said each Big 10 team will receive $96 million in media revenue rights annually, and each SEC team will receive $89 million.

Notre Dame will be at $80 million, which each ACC school will pocket $52 million annually, Altimore says.

The revenue disparity grew wider this week with the finalization of the revamped College Football Playoff. Beginning in 2026, each Big Ten and SEC team will earn more than $21 million annually under the new agreement, while ACC teams will earn just over $13 million annually from the CFP.

“Those dollar differentials aren’t going to change the path of how we move forward as an organization,” Radakovich said. “It’s not going to change from how we are looking to build our football, basketball programs.”

One big key to the FSU and Clemson lawsuits: Whether a judge will uphold the legality of the Grant of Rights agreement.

Radakovich was asked about the Grant of Rights and whether he believes Clemson and FSU will be able to leave the conference without enormous financial penalties.

He cited the fact that Texas and Oklahoma announced they were bolting the Big 12 for the SEC with four years remaining on their deal, which also had a Grant of Rights clause. The Longhorns and Sooners remained in the Big 12 for three more years, then bought out the final year.

“There was no way in those early years that they were able to get out of the Grant of Rights,” Radakovich said. “I’m sure they had great attorneys. They looked at it and decided there was no way to get out of it. So they stayed within their league until it was time they could get out. I’m not sure Clemson or Florida State will be able to change that.”

After Clemson filed its lawsuit Tuesday, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and board of directors chair Jim Ryan said they believe the courts will uphold the agreement between the league and member schools.

“Clemson, along with all ACC members, voluntarily signed and re-signed the 2013 and 2016 Grant of Rights, which is binding through 2036,” the statement read. “In addition, Clemson agreed to the process and procedures for withdrawal. The conference’s legal counsel will vigorously enforce the agreement and bylaws in the best interests of the ACC’s current and incoming members.”

Radakovich told WQAM that a two-megaconference future is a possibility, but “I don’t foresee that in the short-term.”