If you've been following the ongoing saga between Florida State and the ACC, April Fools' Day might have gotten under your skin a little more than usual.
Joke posts on social media aren't anything new, but neither are rumors around FSU and its legal fight to leave the conference for greener pastures in the Big Ten or SEC. With Clemson now joining the fray, the questions are only increasing. Would the Seminoles and Tigers leave together? Are they going to bring Miami with them? Just how much money is at stake with the ACC's TV deal, and how much is ESPN to blame for all this?
Nothing is set in stone yet regarding FSU bolting from the ACC, though that path is starting to clear. Here's what we know:
What are the new rumors that Florida State is leaving for the Big 10?
On March 31, a series of fake posts went up on the site formerly known as Twitter that seemingly came from the FSU and Clemson football accounts. The posts announced the schools were leaving the ACC for the Big Ten, and they were accompanied the following morning by a story on a Penn State blog. See if you can spot the issue.
Turns out it was all an April Fools' joke. The Clemson handle in the post swapped out the "L" in Clemson for an "I," a common tactic in joke posting that is easy to overlook without close examination. The prank even involved a fake account for ESPN reporter Pete Thamel seemingly corroborating the report. On Tuesday afternoon, if you Googled "FSU to the Big 10," the top result was a snippet from the joke story claiming "The Big Ten is now the Big Twenty."
The prank fooled plenty of college sports fans, if only for a moment. Posters on Reddit's college football message board talked about how they almost got got (they also made sure to discuss how much they hate April Fools' Day jokes).
Why are there so many rumors around FSU joining the Big 10?
The Onward State prank worked so well because fans are constantly looking for tips on the next big move in college football. Fans are scrutinizing every part of the ongoing FSU-ACC lawsuit and looking for signs that the two super-conferences are growing.
This post highlights the Seminole Boosters tour and its scheduled stop April 24 in Chicago, less than 20 miles from Big Ten headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois. The only other stops outside Florida are in Atlanta and Pittsburgh, another ACC town.
Is FSU leaving the ACC?
Florida State is trying to exit the ACC's"grant of rights"media deal, which transfers each conference school's media rights over to the conference. Similar agreements exist across college sports, but FSU claims the ACC's deal, which is due to expire in 2036, puts the conference at acompetitive disadvantageagainst the rising powers of the Big Ten and SEC.
On March 27, FSU wrote in a legal filing that it intended to leave the ACC. "The ACC’s objective is to take that Florida property for the next dozen years after FSU exits the ACC and ceases to be a 'Conference Institution,'" the filing states.
Why is Florida State suing to leave the ACC?
For years, Florida State leaders have been vocal in their displeasure over the conference's revenue sharing plan. Most complaints circle around the ACC's TV contract with ESPN, which extends through 2036 even asthe network made substantial cuts. The Big Ten signed a seven-year,$8 billion dealto air games betweenFox, CBS and NBCthat went into effect this season. Next year, the SEC starts a 10-year,$3 billion dealto move fromCBS to ESPN.
Those deals include huge payouts for the schools. Florida coach Billy Napier said projections show each SEC school would get millions more from the new deal, rising from $55 million topotentially more than $70 million. Florida State athletic director Michael Alford saidBig Ten schoolswill receive about $80 million each year from its TV contract, whereasFSU currently receives $42 million. And on top of that, FSU officials have said it would cost $572 million to break the ACC's grant of rights deal and exit the conference.
What is the FSU lawsuit about?
The final straw might have been the FSU football team going undefeated and winning the ACC championship but still being left out of the College Football Playoff. Outrage from all over Florida started immediately after the CFP announcement December 3, and on December 22, the FSU Board of Trustees voted to sue the conference over its media right deal.
Does the Big 10 want FSU and Clemson? What about the SEC?
So far neither the Big Ten nor the SEC has shown interest in expanding past their current size, which is growing at the start of the 2024 college football season. USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington will start in the Big Ten, putting it at 18 teams. Texas and Oklahoma are joining the SEC, which will have 16 teams.
What's next in the FSU lawsuit against the ACC?
Florida State and the ACC met in North Carolina court on March 22 over whether the case would be heard in Mecklenburg County, where the ACC filed its lawsuit, or in Leon County, Florida, where FSU filed theirs. The ACC also wants to keep its contract with ESPN sealed, and ESPN filed its own request to keep the deal away from public eyes as well.
The judge said he would have a ruling by April 9, when the Florida case is scheduled for its first hearing.
What's next in the Clemson lawsuit against the ACC?
Clemson filed its own lawsuit March 19 in Pickens County, South Carolina, taking aim at the ACC's claim that it "irrevocably owns the media rights of member institutions to home games played through 2036, even if an institution ceases to being a member" and "paying an exorbitant $140 million penalty to leave the conference, where members owe the conference fiduciary duties."
The ACC countersued Clemson the following day in North Carolina, similar to what happened in the FSU case. The Clemson-ACC case remains on hold, likely until Florida State's lawsuit plays out.
Florida State sports reporter Ehsan Kassim contributed to this report.
