Florida State president Richard McCullough expressed his frustration as part of what he considers a year-long process where he examined an "existential crisis" with the athletics department $30 million annually behind rivals in the SEC and Big Ten.
"We of course are not satisfied with our current situation,” McCullough said in a Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday afternoon. “We love the ACC, we love our partners at ESPN. Our goal would be to continue to stay in the ACC. But staying in the ACC in the current situation is hard for us to figure out how we remain competitive unless there were major changes in the revenue distribution within the conference. That has not happened.”
McCullough spoke passionately about a few key issues. He says FSU is seeking the revenue he thinks the athletics department deserves because it is a strong brand. He also fears a "waterfall" where Olympic sports will be dramatically impacted due to the revenue shortfall.
Trustees expressed concern about the remainder of the ACC's Grant of Rights, which extends for the league’s schools in a deal with ESPN through 2036. The feasibility of remaining competitive for 13 more years in football, basketball and other Olympics sports — FSU has won three national titles in football but also recently national titles in softball and women’s soccer — while nearby SEC rivals like Florida, Auburn and LSU are better off financially is one that McCullough feels is untenable.
“We'll have to at some point consider leaving the ACC unless there were a radical change to the revenue distribution,” McCullough said.
On July 1, 2024, the Big Ten will add UCLA and Southern Cal, while the SEC will add Texas and Oklahoma. While the power two conferences expand, they also have TV contracts that aren’t nearly as long as the ACC’s deal.
The ACC is third in revenue as a conference, it is considerably behind the SEC and Big Ten. While the ACC announced a "success initiative" to begin in the 2024-25 season, no proposal has been agreed upon by the league's presidents and chancellors. In prior interviews, FSU athletics director Michael Alford indicated it was a good starting point but wouldn't be a $30 million bridge.
"We have a major math problem," trustee Jorge Gonzalez said.
One of the most outspoken trustees was trustee Drew Weatherford, who played quarterback at FSU from 2004-08, and followed McCullough by asking rhetorically: "Do we want to play games moving forward or do we want to compete?"
He later said the question was not if but when FSU would be forced to find more revenue to remain competitive.
“And the simple fact is the cost of playing at the highest level is outpacing the ACC's ability to compete on a regular basis,” Weatherford said.
The clock is also ticking. There is an Aug. 15 deadline to inform the ACC of FSU's decision to leave the conference by July 1, 2024. There is also the question of how FSU will pay a buyout to the ACC of upwards of $120 million to leave the ACC, let alone how the school will broadcast its games given the signed Grant of Rights. The ACC owns the opportunity to broadcast all of FSU’s games through June 2036 under the GOR.
BOT chairman Peter Collins said he expected more action soon. "When the gap is that big, as I said before, it's insurmountable," Collins said. "We're working hard on it."
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