FSU was left out of the CFP
The exclusion of Florida State from the College Football Playoff may extend its implications beyond the football field.
ESPN reports that FSU is engaging in “renewed in-depth discussions about its long-term future in the ACC” in the wake of the Seminoles’ omission from the CFP.
Although these discussions are expected to be formally addressed soon, the report indicates that Florida State is currently “weighing options” and does not have an immediate plan to depart from the ACC.
In August, Florida State President Richard McCullough expressed that the Seminoles would need to contemplate leaving the ACC unless there was a modification to the revenue model.
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“Our goal would be to continue to stay in the ACC, but staying in the ACC under the current situation is hard for us to figure out how we remain competitive unless there was a major change in the revenue distribution within the conference. That has not happened. Those discussions are ongoing at all times,” McCullough stated during a board of trustees meeting in August, as reported by ESPN.
“FSU helps to drive value and will drive value for any partner, but we have spent a year trying to understand how we might fix the issue. This challenge has no easy fixes, but we have spent a year. We’ve explored every possible option that you can imagine. The issue at hand is what can we do to allow ourselves to be competitive in football and get what I think is the revenue we deserve?”
“This continues to be a complicated issue. A lot is going on in the world of conference realignment. My current assessment of the situation after profound analysis is that I believe FSU will have to consider leaving the ACC very seriously at some point unless there is a radical change to the revenue distribution.”
To exit the ACC prematurely, a school would be required to pay three times its annual revenue and negotiate the grant in media rights with the conference for the broadcast of future games.
Conference realignment dominated college football during the summer, notably with the complete disintegration of the Pac-12.
Oregon and Washington have declared their intention to join UCLA and USC in the Big Ten starting in 2024, while Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah will be leaving the conference for the Big 12.
Stanford and Cal were the final departures, announcing in early September that they would be joining the ACC.