TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Floridians will soon gain access to the Atlantic Coast Conference's (ACC) media rights contracts central to Florida State University's (FSU) legal battle to leave the conference. Attorney General Ashley Moody secured an agreement from the ACC’s attorneys to release these documents following her legal action demanding compliance with Florida’s Public Records Act.
The contracts are pivotal in the dispute between FSU and the ACC regarding potential fines or penalties associated with FSU's departure from the conference. "Our office’s legal action has resulted in an agreement from the ACC to produce secret media contracts that are at the heart of the legal wrangling between FSU and the ACC," said Attorney General Moody. "The conference refused to provide media contracts that detail the impact on FSU if it departs, but now they are rightfully handing over these public records. We will continue to fight for transparency."
Attorney General Moody had recently initiated legal proceedings against the ACC for withholding public records. The ACC previously claimed that under its secret media rights contracts, located at its North Carolina headquarters, FSU could face costs exceeding half a billion dollars. The conference had refused to provide these documents for review, requiring representatives from FSU to travel extensively and incur significant expenses.
In response to Attorney General Moody’s actions, the ACC has agreed to produce several key documents by August 1 in accordance with Florida's Public Records Act:
- 2010 ACC Multi-Media Agreement
- 2012 Amendment and Extension Agreement
- 2014 Second Amendment to Multi-Media Agreement
- 2016 Amended and Restated ACC-ESPN Multi-Media Agreement
- ACC-ESPN Network Agreement (2016)
- Letter Amendment to Amended and Restated Multi-Media Agreement (Aug. 10, 2021)