In a Tuesday Capital Tiger Bay Club monthly meeting, Florida State Board of Trustee Chair Peter Collins weighed in on the ongoing FSU versus ACC litigation.
During the forum at the Tucker Civic Center, Collins spoke about the school's growing frustrations with the ACC's revenue-sharing plan and how the now infamous Dec. 3 playoff snub accelerated FSU's decision to sue the conference.
While the "snub" played its part, Collins said FSU's complaints with the ACC were discussed far before the college football playoffs selection show.
He cited frustrations with revenue and the Seminoles' desire to "get paid what it's worth," a leading factor in its disgruntled feelings toward the conference.
"This effort didn't start from the snub. We had been working on this in earnest for a while, you just don't put a complaint like that together in two weeks," Collins said.
"We were still working with the ACC on an equal revenue-sharing plan, but only when it became clear that we weren't going to get where we wanted to be with that effort, and they weren't interested in continuing to help us get better in that effort. Then something like that [the snub] happens, we just felt the time was right."
"There was no reason for us to wait any longer."
Collins said the growing revenue gap between the ACC and the Big 10 and the SEC due to the two conferences' TV deals makes it hard for FSU to compete financially with the programs in those conferences.
He said while Seminole Boosters were able to help close the funding gap with those programs in the past, the current budget differential is too far for donors to bridge and help the school compete.
Collins said FSU could compete with members of the two conferences in athletic revenue generated outside of the media deals. But he added it's difficult for FSU to keep pace with the amount of television money currently being pumped into the Big 10 and SEC.
The ACC announced last month that it had generated a record $706.6 million in gross revenue in 2022-23, distributing an average of $44.8 million to its 14 football-playing members.
Yet despite the record growth, the ACC remains behind the Big Ten (nearly $880 million) and SEC ($852.6 million).
The ACC distributed an average of $44.8 million to its 14 football-playing members, including FSU.
"If you take away the TV dollars and you put us in the SEC we're fourth in the amount of revenue we generate in our athletic department, you put us in the big 10, we're fourth," Collins said.
"When you then take that TV contract, they're making double, and that gap is really big."
While Collins was tight-lipped on the future of FSU and its conference allegiance following the lawsuit with the ACC, he gave his opinion on what a successful outcome would be at the end of the litigation.
"I think our ultimate goal is to get paid for what we're worth."
What is the current status of the FSU vs. ACC legal battle?
InMay, FSU filed a nearly 600-page complaintin North Carolina asking for the state's supreme court to review the April decision given by the judge there. The petition asks for a writ of certiorari, a formal request for the court to review a case for error or a violation.
The ACC responded to FSU's appeal, saying FSU's appeal "fails on its face" because it doesn't show that the court's decision was “patently arbitrary."
On June 21, Leon Circut Judge John C. Cooper denied the ACC's motion to dismiss FSU's lawsuit against the conference in Leon County, allowing the case to continue to move forward in the Florida legal system.
The ACC has already appealed Judge Cooper's ruling that the conference preemptivefiled its lawsuit in North Carolina to try and gain jurisdiction in the case. There has been no official appeal of the June 21 decision.
In April,Florida Attorney General Ashley Moodyfiled a lawsuit against the conference demanding the media contracts, Grant of Rights and ESPN agreement be revealed in accordance with Florida public records law.
On June 13, Moody said she doesn't need a hearing to get the media contracts from the ACC, citing Florida's public record law and saying a judge can make a ruling on her request now.
Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
