FSU football: North Carolina manuvering to join Noles and Clemson against ACC?

FSU football heard a lot of negativity from other schools in the ACC a year ago. One of the most outspoken schools was North Carolina, one of the founding members of the ACC. North Carolina Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham had this to say while appearing on The Adam Gold Show in early August 2023.

"If they want to leave then that's going to be their choice, but there's certain obligations that they do have," Cunningham said during an appearance on The Adam Gold Show. "We have an exit fee, and we have a grant of rights. I believe that the ACC is a great league, it's been a great league for a long time. Their frustration about the money — everyone would like to have more money and everyone would like to win more."

"What they want to do and how they want to go about doing their business, that is their business, but it does have an impact on us," Cunningham said of Florida State. "And quite frankly, I don't think it's good for our league for them to be out there barking like that. I'd rather see them be a good member of the league and support the league, and if they have to make a decision, then so be it. Pay for the exit fee, wait for your grant of rights that you've given, and then in 2036, when those rights return to you, do whatever you want."

It's funny he said he didn't like FSU barking, but now the Board of Trustee members for the same North Carolina school he continues to work for have taken the same stance as FSU last year.  Check out what was said this week from a North Carolina BOT member below:

Here's what we know. It's only a matter of time before FSU and Clemson will leave the ACC, which will severely damage what value the ACC has left. That value is already light years lower than the SEC and B1G. The ACC tried to mitigate FSU and Clemson leaving, but California, Stanford, and SMU will not offer anything to offset those losses. The ACC can restructure however it wants, but there's nothing it can do to become financially competitive with the SEC and B1G. Not only that but there's already a perception that the ACC is a second-rate conference in nearly every sport. 

The NCAA Softball Tournament is another example, with ACC regular-season and Tournament champion Duke getting the No. 10 overall seed with a national RPI ranking of four. If we look at that, along with FSU's snub from the College Football Playoff, it's clear ACC teams will not get a fair shake in the coming years. I think North Carolina folks have watched FSU file its lawsuit against the ACC, followed by Clemson, and see the writing on the wall. It's funny none of the North Carolina media who were so critical of FSU a year ago have anything to say about these BOT comments. However, one of the most vocal, Joe Ovies, had this to say, to which I responded. 

It's already a matter of time before FSU and Clemson leave the ACC. If North Carolina joins the lawsuit, the ACC may not even survive as a second-rate conference.