Another hearing has been set in the ongoing legal battle over Florida State University’s efforts to leave the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Leon County Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey will hear from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody on Monday, July 22, about a public records complaint, she filed back in April.
Dempsey will decide whether the ACC should have to turn over its media-rights contracts to Moody.
The Attorney General is accusing the conference and its television provider, ESPN, of withholding important documents from the public. She believes certain contracts like media-rights agreements, should be easily accessible under Florida’s public records law.
“The ACC is asking a state entity—Florida State University—to potentially pay and lose more than a half a billion dollars but is refusing to produce the documents related to that outrageous price tag," said Moody in a statement.
Both the ACC and ESPN have denied such requests in the past. This hearing follows FSU’s victory in getting the ACC to hand the agreement to them—under the condition that it not be made public.
"We sent a public records request to the ACC in January, but they failed to fully comply. We are taking legal action against the ACC for wrongfully withholding these important public records," said Moody.
Florida State has claimed the ACC forced them into signing bad media deals and wants to leave the conference for a more lucrative deal with another one.
If the judge rules in Moody’s favor, both FSU and the public will have access to documents regarding TV revenue distribution and teams’ Grant of Rights—something FSU attorneys says is worth $572 million, and the price it would have to pay to leave the ACC.