Clemson and the ACC: Addressing the rumors, legal status, and a possible new player

Clemson looks to gain some clarity in its dueling court case this week.

David Hood - Senior Writer - Wednesday, July 10 2024

Clemson and the Atlantic Coast Conference will be back in court Friday as social media rumors continue to swirl.

At stake? Clemson wants to leave the ACC and seek a greener – or at least more profitable – home in another conference.

Let’s catch up on the legal proceedings first. Last week, the ACC and Clemson appeared in Mecklenburg County Court as the university seeks to dismiss (or stay - stay is an action taken by a court to stop a legal proceeding or the actions of a party) the suit in North Carolina courts.

The Friday hearing is the same thing but on the opposite side of the coin – Clemson was the first of the parties to take legal action when it sued the ACC in Pickens County back in March, challenging the conference’s “grant of rights” and large exit fee required of any school hoping to leave the ACC for another conference. The ACC is asking Pickens County Judge Perry H. Gravely to dismiss/stay the case in its favor.

Obviously, both sides want the case to be heard in their home venue. A decision for the league by Gravely would be a win for the ACC, and a decision for Clemson in Charlotte would be a huge win for the university.

The league quickly filed suit in North Carolina in Mecklenburg County, where the ACC headquarters are located, and asked a court to declare its grant of rights and exit fee were “valid and enforceable” while seeking damages from Clemson for breaching that GOR in the case ACC vs. Clemson.

The parties argued their cases in North Carolina last week, and they were heard by North Carolina Business Court Chief Judge Louis A. Bledsoe III. A ruling here could provide everyone with some clarity on where the case will ultimately be heard—either in South Carolina or North Carolina.

Bledsoe committed to issuing a ruling by the time the two parties meet on Friday.

Now, let’s address all of the rumors that are out there. Certain X users – formerly Twitter – specialize in beating the drum on conference realignment and expansion. There is obviously a lot of information out there, especially when you add in Florida State’s lawsuit against the ACC.

There isn’t a lot of information out there from a Clemson standpoint. Where Florida St. has been very open about their intentions – maybe even to their detriment – Clemson’s approach has been understated and quiet. That is by design.

It may give the appearance that Clemson isn’t on the same page with FSU or pursuing a potential landing spot with the same enthusiasm as the Seminoles, but that’s not true. I like to use the old quote, “Be like a duck. Calm on the surface but always paddling like the dickens underneath.”

Clemson is the duck, and things look calm and serene on the surface, but the school is working furiously behind the scenes to settle this.

I have spoken with several people around the league, wondering if any other schools are considering their options, and I believe that there is another school silently working behind the scenes, and that could be the University of North Carolina. It would not surprise me in the least to find out that Clemson and North Carolina are not only in conversations and are in lockstep but also talk daily.

I know that Greg Swaim – you can look him up on X – posted late Tuesday that the Big Ten has passed on adding Clemson and Florida State. I find his timing not so coincidental as Big 12 is having its media days, and there is talk that the conference is looking to expand even further. To me, that smacks of the Big 12 stirring the pot in its own favor.

I do believe that FOX would love to see Clemson and UNC, or FSU, in the Big Ten. Would the SEC let those schools jump into a rival conference? It remains to be seen. But as of right now, all of that is a conversation for another day.

Let’s see what happens on Friday and move on from there.