MEGA Conference Realignment and lawsuits Megathread: Stories, Tales, Lies, and Exaggerations

Works for me, let's get this thing moving.
Would love to think that Radakovich and the UM team have this wrapped up back channeled ... just waiting for the FSU / ACC deal to reach a climax and establish the exit parameters ... and FSU / Miami move as a travel team with ND being added via scheduling agreement ... and the rest is all a distraction. Heck, ND can schedule 5 games with the B10 and still maintain it's ACC 5 game commitment (for a while at least) and that still gives them 2 open dates for Navy etc.
 
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Would love to think that Radakovich and the UM team have this wrapped up back channeled ... just waiting for the FSU / ACC deal to reach a climax and establish the exit parameters ... and FSU / Miami move as a travel team with ND being added via scheduling agreement ... and the rest is all a distraction. Heck, ND can schedule 5 games with the B10 and still maintain it's ACC 5 game commitment (for a while at least) and that still gives them 2 open dates for Navy etc.
Ironically, Miami's two biggest rivalries are FSU and ND since UF got scared and ran away.
 
This guy probably cares about keeping the ACC around. He could be NorthernVaginaCane's best friend!

FSU has blown a hole in the extension of the GOR by the commissioner without a vote by members. At the worst the GOR should end when the 2026 season is over because ESPN has not extended it. They also did a great job pointing out the nepotism in the deal and Swofford operating on the betterment of his son vs what was right for members. That is JMO, but I am no lawyer.
Legit question, not trolling . . . i'm only occasionally reading the second-hand sources about the litigation so when you state that "the extension of the GOR by the commissioner without a vote by members", do we know if a vote by members was required? Sometimes organizations give written grants of authority to its officers to make decisions on their behalf without the need to come back and ask for permission. Is that the case here? Or did the commissioner act beyond his authority? TIA.
 
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Without being short sided in terms of timeframe, having Miami/FSU, Miami/ND and even FSU/ND to add to Oregon/Washington, USC/UCLA alongside one of the best in OSU - Michigan and you are talking about loading it up on the rivalry side.
From a Miami perspective I always had preferred SEC to be our destination. Geographically it is better for sure. Bottom tier games against Vandy, South Carolina, Miss State, Missouri, Kentucky, etc. are still far better than Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, Rutgers, etc in the B1G.

But the idea of having FSU, ND, Penn State, OSU, and Nebraska... all those old school rivalries... that tips the scale strongly for me. You would think those schools and the conference would envision that as well.
 
From a Miami perspective I always had preferred SEC to be our destination. Geographically it is better for sure. Bottom tier games against Vandy, South Carolina, Miss State, Missouri, Kentucky, etc. are still far better than Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, Rutgers, etc in the B1G.

But the idea of having FSU, ND, Penn State, OSU, and Nebraska... all those old school rivalries... that tips the scale strongly for me. You would think those schools and the conference would envision that as well.
have we even won a game in sub 40 degree weather?
 
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Legit question, not trolling . . . i'm only occasionally reading the second-hand sources about the litigation so when you state that "the extension of the GOR by the commissioner without a vote by members", do we know if a vote by members was required? Sometimes organizations give written grants of authority to its officers to make decisions on their behalf without the need to come back and ask for permission. Is that the case here? Or did the commissioner act beyond his authority? TIA.
Not an attorney ... however ... Bob Thompson former CEO of FOX Sports and one of the founders of the B10 network, currently a private media consultant, posted on Twitter the day the FSU filings were posted "leave it to the FSU legal team to find a hole in the GOR big enough to drive a truck through" referencing the unilaterally granted option to extend that NOBODY in the conference was aware of.

That created all sorts of claim potential. ESPN had an option to extend that apparently expired in 2021 and they didn't exercise it. Could we have had a new media contract negotiated then? Nobody knows. Phillips extended the option period without notification, discussion, or approval. Fact is that the ACC conference has been operated by ACC management as though the prime objective is enriching the ACC conference staff, keeping ACC staff employees employed, and providing financial benefits to family members of ACC management.

In 2010 the media agreement was up for renewal / renegotiation. Swofford point blank told ESPN that the only way they would get the deal was by INCLUDING RAYCOM as part of the contract. The net impact, stated by the FSU attorneys, was a cost of $85 million per year skimmed off the top in order to INCLUDE Raycom in the deal. That is a cost in lost revenues TO the ACC members in excess of $1.15 Billion dollars in the period from 2010 through 2024. Reason? Swofford's son was the new business development director at Raycom. The company almost shut down two years prior, laid off a large number of employees (but not Swofford's son) and the deal was done to enrich Swofford's son. At the same time the ACC was running all of it's finances through a bank where Swofford's daughter was employed.

"Breech of Fiduciary Duty" is one of the charges in the ACC filing, and there are various instances cited. Phillips responded recently when asked why conference member approval was not obtained. "Members only approve substantive media agreements and this was not one" ... in his words. What???? THE media agreement, length, option to extend .... ARE NOT MATERIAL?????? They need to burn the ACC down.
 
763 pages of nothing.
You new here?


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From a Miami perspective I always had preferred SEC to be our destination. Geographically it is better for sure. Bottom tier games against Vandy, South Carolina, Miss State, Missouri, Kentucky, etc. are still far better than Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, Rutgers, etc in the B1G.

But the idea of having FSU, ND, Penn State, OSU, and Nebraska... all those old school rivalries... that tips the scale strongly for me. You would think those schools and the conference would envision that as well.
Who says the conference hasn’t envisioned that? Everything is speculation right now. FSU is just super public about their displeasure.
 
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Legit question, not trolling . . . i'm only occasionally reading the second-hand sources about the litigation so when you state that "the extension of the GOR by the commissioner without a vote by members", do we know if a vote by members was required? Sometimes organizations give written grants of authority to its officers to make decisions on their behalf without the need to come back and ask for permission. Is that the case here? Or did the commissioner act beyond his authority? TIA.
The lawyers in here have said as much over the 764 pages. According to them the extension recquired a vote, while the commissioner simply extended the window for ESPN extending GOR all by himself. Basically, the GOR should be done after the 2026 season. I am no lawyer though. There is another lawyer who has stated GOR is ironclad repeatedly though. So take all of it FWIW. I can not blame anybody for being too busy to keep up with all 764 pages of posts.
 
Not an attorney ... however ... Bob Thompson former CEO of FOX Sports and one of the founders of the B10 network, currently a private media consultant, posted on Twitter the day the FSU filings were posted "leave it to the FSU legal team to find a hole in the GOR big enough to drive a truck through" referencing the unilaterally granted option to extend that NOBODY in the conference was aware of.

That created all sorts of claim potential. ESPN had an option to extend that apparently expired in 2021 and they didn't exercise it. Could we have had a new media contract negotiated then? Nobody knows. Phillips extended the option period without notification, discussion, or approval. Fact is that the ACC conference has been operated by ACC management as though the prime objective is enriching the ACC conference staff, keeping ACC staff employees employed, and providing financial benefits to family members of ACC management.

In 2010 the media agreement was up for renewal / renegotiation. Swofford point blank told ESPN that the only way they would get the deal was by INCLUDING RAYCOM as part of the contract. The net impact, stated by the FSU attorneys, was a cost of $85 million per year skimmed off the top in order to INCLUDE Raycom in the deal. That is a cost in lost revenues TO the ACC members in excess of $1.15 Billion dollars in the period from 2010 through 2024. Reason? Swofford's son was the new business development director at Raycom. The company almost shut down two years prior, laid off a large number of employees (but not Swofford's son) and the deal was done to enrich Swofford's son. At the same time the ACC was running all of it's finances through a bank where Swofford's daughter was employed.

"Breech of Fiduciary Duty" is one of the charges in the ACC filing, and there are various instances cited. Phillips responded recently when asked why conference member approval was not obtained. "Members only approve substantive media agreements and this was not one" ... in his words. What???? THE media agreement, length, option to extend .... ARE NOT MATERIAL?????? They need to burn the ACC down.
I should have scrolled down further and seen this reply before I replied. Thanks. Better answer to the question in your post.
 
Does anyone know ho has read the conference bylaws in the past recall what would be needed by a member vote (3/4, 2/3 or simple majority) for members to agree to conference decision to suit a member school?

I know it’s been discussed before and the rules shared but I can’t find them.

Trying to be aware in response to this report and what “authorized” means for the amended complaint

 
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