AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — Florida State athletic director Michael Alford was asked Tuesday during the ACC spring meetings if any part of the university's future with the league was salvageable, considering he filed a lawsuit against the conference.
“We'll just wait for that to happen,” Alford said. “We have great partners in this conference, great relationships. But at the end of the day, we have to do what is best for the state of Florida and look at the changing environment of college athletics and make sure we are there to be successful. “
Alford reiterated that his school has not declared its intention to withdraw from the league, despite a pending lawsuit challenging the ACC's vesting and withdrawal fee. Both Florida State and Clemson have filed lawsuits against the ACC, while the league has filed lawsuits defending the grant, which gives it control over the media rights of each of its league members through 2036.
Clemson athletic director Graham Neff did not speak to reporters Tuesday.
Alford said there was no tension in the room and described the meetings as “cordial.”
Still, the future of both programs gives an air of uncertainty as league leaders discuss what lies ahead, including a pending settlement in the House vs. NCAA, finding ways to increase revenue and an expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. that will start this season.
When asked what it was like to sit in a room discussing the future of the ACC while his own school's future as a member of the league remains up in the air, Alford said: “You go with where you are right now, and right now , we”. “We're members of the conference. So we're participating, making decisions about what's best moving forward, but looking at how that affects the state of Florida.”
One of the points of discussion Tuesday with football coaches was trying to improve a perception problem ahead of the expanded playoff. Changing that narrative became a common theme during their meetings. While coaches have made this point over the past few years, the discussion was fueled this time thanks in large part to what happened at Florida State last season and the possibility of the ACC being excluded from at-large bids in the expanded playoffs .
Florida State went 13-0 and won the ACC championship in 2023, but became the first undefeated Power 5 team to be left out of the CFP, in favor of Alabama, with a loss.
“Our concern is that our league has been better than perceived,” North Carolina coach Mack Brown said. “And sometimes, we've had teams that have beaten other leagues and not gotten real credit for it. So, we're really pushing for the ACC to invest in telling the story of football in the ACC because we don't think we've “I've done a good job at that as other people have done.”
Coaches noted that the ACC went 6-4 head-to-head against the SEC last season, but were frustrated that it didn't seem to come up in the discussion of whether Florida State deserved to make the playoffs.
Heading into a 12-team playoff, Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi said it was a “possibility” the ACC could lose at-large bids if the strength of its conference was not considered as high as others.
“That could happen when you talk about disrespect,” Narduzzi said.
As Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson added, “What we want to avoid is a 13th-ranked school having to be ranked 10th or 11th.”
Alford said he doesn't think Florida State could have done anything differently last season, but going forward the perception has to change.
“We have to get better. What happened last year was tragic and says a lot about the perception of this league when it comes to football, specifically,” he said. “Expanding the playoff system is going to be great, and we have to continue to push the boundaries and invest in our football programs to get better and continue to invest and compete.”
