ACC sues Clemson after dispute over exit fees

CHARLOTTE — The Atlantic Coast Conference is firing back at Clemson University after the school filed a lawsuit against the conference over exit fees.

Clemson and Florida State University said in their lawsuits against the ACC that they claim the exit fees are “exorbitantly” high. FSU filed a lawsuit in December, and Clemson filed its suit this week.

In a filing by the ACC on Wednesday, the conference kicks off the complaint with a quote from Clemson University President James Clements in 2016 talking about how great the conference is.

But eight years later, the school and the conference are in the middle of a battle over the league’s right to charge hundreds of millions of dollars to leave the conference.

Clemson hasn’t said it’s exiting the ACC, and it’s been a member dating back to its founding in 1953. However, the complaint from the school says the ACC’s exit penalty is too high.

In the ACC’s lawsuit against Clemson, the conference says Clemson agreed to increase the withdrawal payment and give the ACC exclusive media rights through 2036.

The ACC wants the court to declare that the withdrawal payment and grant of rights are both valid and enforceable. The suit also wants the court to stop Clemson from “attacking the validity of the withdrawal payment or the grant of rights.”

The ACC is headquartered in Charlotte, and the lawsuit was filed in Mecklenburg County.

You can read the full lawsuit complaint at this link.

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