BREAKING: Clemson pays up to $475,000 to sue the ACC

According to documents made public by the university, Clemson University intends to pay up to $475,000 in legal fees during the first four months of its lawsuit to withdraw from the Athletic Coast Conference.

For its case, Clemson retained the services of three firms: Ropes & Grey in Boston; Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough in Columbia; and Wilson, Jones, Carter & Baxley in Greenville. Documents filed with the state Attorney General’s Office and obtained by The State through a public records request indicate that they are defending Clemson “in litigation regarding athletics media rights and related agreements.” According to the description, the assignment is “very complex litigation of significant value.”

The three legal firms’ original schedule for work was set for March 1 through June 30 of this year. The week before to the university suing the ACC in Pickens County, on March 11, 12, and 13, Clemson submitted its initial petitions for clearance to the state attorney general’s office.

The requests were granted on March 15 by the attorney general’s office. Documents show that Clemson was given permission by the state attorney general’s office to pay a maximum fee of $75,000 to the Greenville firm, $250,000 to the Columbia business, and $150,00 to the Boston firm, for a total of up to $475,000. Many solicitors consented to work at lower hourly rates.

A representative for Clemson University, Joe Galbraith, informed The State that “any outside counsel working with Clemson University is being supported by athletics-generated revenue and private donor funding.” Historically, the donors have been former students, but Galbraith was unable to provide the identities of those who have given money to the cause.

Donors can make contributions to the school’s athletic department or other particular programmes. A clause prohibiting Clemson from utilising any public funds for outside legal fees, departure fees, or admission fees directly related to athletic conference affiliations was included in the state Senate’s budget plan, which was approved last month.

Members of the House still need to approve that clause. In an attempt to get out of the ACC during the next round of college football realignment, Clemson filed a lawsuit against the conference this spring over its departure fee. The success and national significance of the school’s football programme under head coach Dabo Swinney have made the Tigers a target for expansion into the Big Ten and Southeast Conference in recent years. Clemson claims that the ACC’s whole exit fee—which is expected to be worth $572 million—is “unconscionable and unenforceable” in the complaint filed on March 19.

The lawsuit contends that the ACC made “erroneous assertions” when it stated that member schools “must pay an exorbitant $140 million penalty to leave the conference” and that it “irrevocably owns the media rights of member institutions” for home games played through 2036, even if a school withdraws from the conference.

The ACC has countersued Clemson in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, the conference’s headquarters, in response to a comparable lawsuit from Florida State. The fact that Clemson has approved legal counsel until June 30 does not mean that the university expects its lawsuit to be resolved by then. Instead, it’s a preliminary measure for the first four months of the legal process.

It is possible that Clemson will submit a similar request for clearance for additional months of litigation, as attorneys who are watching the case but are not involved in it have informed The State that they anticipate the Clemson-ACC dispute to be a protracted legal struggle.