Florida State and the ACC are scheduled to enter mediation next week over their legal dispute, multiple sources tell Yahoo Sports. While it is a significant step in the proceedings, the mediation phase — an in-person discussion between the two sides in front of a neutral mediator — is an expected one and is not guaranteed to produce a settlement decision. The neutral mediator has been chosen, and the two sides, barring something unforeseen, will convene for the talks next week, those with knowledge of the discussions tell Yahoo Sports. Officials at the ACC and Florida State both declined comment when reached. The ACC and one of its most premier brands are locked in a legal fight. The Seminoles are attempting to exit the conference without paying both the exit fee and the cost of buying out its media rights, which it agreed years ago to grant to the conference. The price tag of such an exit is estimated to be at more than $500 million, according to court records. $1 Million on Yahoo! Fantasy Create or join a private league and enter the sweepstakes by 9/5. No purchase necessary. 18+, 50 US or DC. Click to learn more Presented by Toyota The case is playing out in two separate lawsuits over two states, FSU’s home in Florida and the ACC’s home in North Carolina, as each side works to hold the proceedings in their own footprint. During a hearing in April in Florida, Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper ordered the school and the conference to attempt “good faith” mediation to resolve the dispute. Mediation is a conflict-resolution process designed to lead to a mutually beneficial compromise. Unlike a judge or arbitrator, the mediator will not decide the case’s outcome, but will only help the parties by encouraging each side toward a resolution. Mediation can take days, weeks or even months, but normally features a deadline. ACC officials have shown no willingness to resolve the dispute with a settlement, which, in all likelihood, would involve a compromise in the multimillion-dollar exit fee. In fact, just two weeks ago at the ACC’s annual football media days, commissioner Jim Phillips blistered Florida State, as well as Clemson, for what he described as “disruptive and harmful” attempts to exit by suing their own conference and maintained that the league is committed to fighting the schools in court for “as long as it takes.” In possibly coincidental timing, next Thursday is an important deadline. Schools in the ACC must give the conference a one-year notice before participating in athletics in another league the following academic year. The annual deadline for such a notice is Aug. 15. It has been long believed that FSU is not planning on giving notice this August. Clemson is fighting the league as well in two separate lawsuits playing out over two states (South Carolina and North Carolina). Though the cases brought by Clemson and FSU are not identical, their goal is the same. They are seeking an inexpensive exit path from the conference and its grant of rights — an agreement signed by the two schools, as well as others, that binds them to the ACC and grants their television rights to the conference. The grant of rights is connected to the conference’s television deal with ESPN, a document at the heart of Clemson and FSU’s desire to leave the ACC. The ESPN contract, while celebrated at the time, will pay ACC members a fraction of what those in the SEC and Big Ten are receiving from their television contracts. By 2027, members of those leagues could be receiving $30 million more annually in conference media distribution than ACC programs — a gap that many administrators and coaches fear will have an adverse impact on the on-field success between the two behemoths and those in the ACC and Big 12. ** Edited by goldendomer at 8/9/2024, 6:05:37 PM