CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Clemson University has won dozens of championships under the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) banner but now the two sides are facing off in courtrooms in the Carolinas.
The ACC filed a lawsuit against Clemson on Tuesday in Mecklenburg County court, accusing the university of breaching its contract. The conference is also looking for the court to declare its withdrawal fee is valid and enforceable.
The lawsuit was filed in response to Clemson's lawsuit against the ACC earlier this week over the withdrawal fee, which is around $140 million. That lawsuit was filed in Pickens County, South Carolina.
"In the wake of conference realignment elsewhere and new media deals involving other conferences, Clemson has changed course and seeks not only a home in a more lucrative conference but claims that the agreements which it publicly endorsed do not mean what they say," ACC attorneys said in the lawsuit.
Attorneys representing the ACC state that Clemson agreed to be in the conference until 2036. The complaint filed Tuesday provides the signed agreement by all ACC institutions from 2013 and even provides a written statement from Clemson University president James Clements after a deal was finalized in 2016 with ESPN for the ACC Network.
"The ACC is a great conference, and this increases the national exposure, brings in additional revenue, and offers greater opportunity for student-athletes," Clements said in the statement. "For us and the Florida States and others, it stabilizes the conference long term."
The conference is asking the court to declare its withdrawal fee as valid, affirm that it holds the rights to Clemson through 2036, and prohibit Clemson from attempting to breach its contract. ACC attorneys also seek damages from Clemson for its actions leading up to the lawsuit.
Clemson is not the first school to be involved in a lawsuit with the ACC in recent months. Florida State filed a lawsuit against the conference in December 2023, arguing the ACC's grant of rights violates antitrust laws and that its withdrawal fee is "draconian."
The ACC responded with a lawsuit of its own against Florida State in Mecklenburg County, which has since been moved to North Carolina Business Court. ESPN even joined this lawsuit against Florida State, arguing that the university's lawsuit exposed trade secrets by disclosing media rights deals.
ACC attorneys have requested the Clemson lawsuit also be moved to North Carolina Business Court. Clemson has yet to respond to the lawsuit.
Clemson is a charter member of the ACC, joining in 1953, the conference's inaugural year. If Clemson does depart, it would be a huge blow for the ACC as conferences across the nation deal with increased realignment.