Conference Realignment

[forensicbuzz]

Once again, the disclosure that I'm not a lawyer. I don't think mediation would require all of the parties that can sign off on an agreement to be present. If it did, then corporations would have a very hard time with court ordered mediation. Mediation doesn't have to be only one session or bust. They would have lawyers and representatives who know guidelines. If any offer was made by one side that hadn't been discussed previously, those in the mediation session would go back and review with all of the decision makers before the next session, which would probably be some time out so that those discussions could take place.

I agree with you that mediation is very, very unlikely to produce any resolution in this case.

As I pointed out earlier, this mediation order seems to have a negative impact on FSU more so than the ACC. The ACC doesn't even have to be at the mediation table until after the deadline for FSU to announce they are leaving the ACC for the 2025 season. If their goal is to negotiate, or get a court order that allows them to leave the ACC without losing their broadcast rights, it won't happen before the deadline this year.

Yes, the decision-makers are present, either physically or remotely. Often time those with money authority are a call away.

 

[forensicbuzz]

There could be some type of "power of attorney" agreement, then there's also consent given by each school for the ACC to arbitrate for everyone, but the final agreement that comes out of arbitration must be approved and signed by each school. There are legal ways around it to expedite the process and save each school a lot of money.

This is mediation not arbitration. Two wholly different animals.

 

[forensicbuzz]

All I am saying is that they don't have to have every single university president in the room while the discussions are taking place. They can have discussions in the mediation and then take the result of those discussions out to the respective stakeholders to see if there is agreement. I seriously doubt that even the FSU president will be in the room. Will they come to an agreement that every ACC school would sign off on? I don't think so. However, they can have meetings with each other that are conducted by a mediator. The judge hasn't ordered the parties to come to an agreement in mediation. He has only ordered them to participate in mediation. He said that he does that in every single lawsuit, except for mortgage foreclosures. I agree with you that mediation is very unlikely to resolve the issue. I don't understand why you think having representatives attend mediation is impossible.

Just to lay out how mediation works...

1 There is a mediator. This is usually a retired judge or a seasoned attorney who acts as an intermediary of the involved parties. Confidential briefs and other information are provided to the mediator in advance so they can prepare.

2 The parties to the suit are in separate spaces, generally in the same physical location so the mediator can go back and forth to each group. But they are not together, except for a kick-off meeting.

3 They have an opening meeting where the mediator lays out the procedure and how everything is going to work.

4 The mediator meets with one of the groups first where their demands and expectations are laid out.

5 The mediator then goes into the other space and meets with the second group. He'll listen to their argument and provide a description of the other party's demands.

6 If, in the opinion of the mediator, there can be no resolution, the mediation can end there.

7 However, the role of the mediator is to point out the strengths of the opposition's case and the weaknesses in your case (to each party) in an effort to drive the parties towards each other. This is usually done with candidness and frankness.

8 In order for there to be movement, someone with decision-making authority has to be involved in the mediation. Without that, it's a fruitless effort. If the ACC does not have proxy authority of each school or a representative from each school, then the mediation will be very short.

Not all mediations follow this exact structure, but this is generally how it works. I've been involved in hundreds of mediations as a technical expert throughout my career,

 

[orientalnc]

This is mediation not arbitration. Two wholly different animals.

Agreed. A mediator cannot impose a solution.

What could happen, and may, is the FSU reps in the mediation come back to the judge and say the ACC is not willing to talk about anything except getting 100% of their ask. In that case the judge could admonish the ACC to negotiate in good faith, but he cannot force the ACC, in mediation, to agree with FSU on any aspect of the dispute. He could rule against the ACC on the merits, but that is immediately appealable.

If this is a race to judgement, FSU just lost if the NC case proceeds quickly toward a decision.

What I think FSU wants is for 2025 to edge closer to the court's decision point and ESPN begins getting edgy about its relationship with the ACC. They hope the poobahs at ESPN will tell the poobahs at the ACC that this is not going well and negotiation with FSU on exit terms is mandatory if the network is going to continue broadcasting ACC games. They hope ESPN will direct a solution that allows FSU and Clemson to leave in exchange for ESPN continuing with the current media agreement with the ACC.

 

[forensicbuzz]

Agreed. A mediator cannot impose a solution.

What could happen, and may, is the FSU reps in the mediation come back to the judge and say the ACC is not willing to talk about anything except getting 100% of their ask. In that case the judge could admonish the ACC to negotiate in good faith, but he cannot force the ACC, in mediation, to agree with FSU on any aspect of the dispute. He could rule against the ACC on the merits, but that is immediately appealable.

If this is a race to judgement, FSU just lost if the NC case proceeds quickly toward a decision.

What I think FSU wants is for 2025 to edge closer to the court's decision point and ESPN begins getting edgy about its relationship with the ACC. They hope the poobahs at ESPN will tell the poobahs at the ACC that this is not going well and negotiation with FSU on exit terms is mandatory if the network is going to continue broadcasting ACC games. They hope ESPN will direct a solution that allows FSU and Clemson to leave in exchange for ESPN continuing with the current media agreement with the ACC.

I agree. If I were Jim Phillips and the ACC, I would be telling the member universities to hold steady and tell FSU (and Clemson) "there is no value you can put forward that will break the GoR. You can buy yourself out of the Conference and can leave for greener pastures, but your B***S are mine until 2036."

 

[Techwood Relict]

This is not binding. The judge can't do that. He can only push them into a room and make them talk. The ACC won't talk because the second they set a price (which I'm not sure they can), it's just negotiation then.

forensic is correct. Mediation is non-binding. I doubt much comes of it. ACC has no reason to give up position at this stage.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

This is mediation not arbitration. Two wholly different animals.

You beat me to it.

 

[Techster]

This is mediation not arbitration. Two wholly different animals.

Gotcha, and you are correct that it's a mediation not an arbitration.

The point of the original question still stands. "I don't see how the ACC could come to an agreement without all conference members signing on."

Schools can appoint someone to represent them and make decisions and schools as a group can appoint one person to represent them at the mediation. Unless the court's mediation order expressly says that each school's "decision maker" must be present at mediation.

 

[forensicbuzz]

Gotcha, and you are correct that it's a mediation not an arbitration.

The point of the original question still stands. "I don't see how the ACC could come to an agreement without all conference members signing on."

Schools can appoint someone to represent them and make decisions and schools as a group can appoint one person to represent them at the mediation. Unless the court's mediation order expressly says that each school's "decision maker" must be present at mediation.

Can't

 

[LawTalkin Jacket]

This seems correct "this mediation order seems to have a negative impact on FSU more so than the ACC. The ACC doesn't even have to be at the mediation table until after the deadline for FSU to announce they are leaving the ACC for the 2025 season. If their goal is to negotiate, or get a court order that allows them to leave the ACC without losing their broadcast rights, it won't happen before the deadline this year." So a small victory for ACC (delay is good for ACC so dismissal and refiling and mediation are good for ACC)

You never know with mediation, even though no agreement would seem possible, sometimes mediation will result in a deal. The stakes for ACC are literally its survival so there has to be room to negotiate for the ACC.

I read a tweet thread that said ESPN would broker a deal for FSU and Klempson to get into SEC (because ESPN prefers that over them in B1G or BIG12) and would also extend ACC tv deal for 10 years AND FSU and Klempson would pay a ton to get out. ESPN would threaten not to extend ACC tv deal if ACC won't agree to let them go. that is the kind of stuff that could result in a deal at mediation.

 

[Vespid]

...
You never know with mediation, even though no agreement would seem possible, sometimes mediation will result in a deal. The stakes for ACC are literally its survival so there has to be room to negotiate for the ACC.

I read a tweet thread that said ESPN would broker a deal for FSU and Klempson to get into SEC (because ESPN prefers that over them in B1G or BIG12) and would also extend ACC tv deal for 10 years AND FSU and Klempson would pay a ton to get out. ESPN would threaten not to extend ACC tv deal if ACC won't agree to let them go. that is the kind of stuff that could result in a deal at mediation. View attachment 16029

Regarding the highlighted, that would be rich considering ESPN was the architect of the ACC GOR to begin with. For some reason, the words collusion and bad faith negotiating are creeping into my head. There's a fox hiding in the bushes, no pun intended. Currently, ESPN's ROI on ACC is pretty high comparatively, It's not clear, at least to me, why they would want to turn that spigot off early, given the status quo. Obviously, they must know something or have very high probability projections about the near future status quo the rest of us don't.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

I read a tweet thread that said ESPN would broker a deal for FSU and Klempson to get into SEC (because ESPN prefers that over them in B1G or BIG12) and would also extend ACC tv deal for 10 years AND FSU and Klempson would pay a ton to get out. ESPN would threaten not to extend ACC tv deal if ACC won't agree to let them go. that is the kind of stuff that could result in a deal at mediation.

For this to work, ESPN would have to increase the pay to the SEC enough so that FSU and Clemson make more than they do in the ACC and also make it worth the SEC taking them in while still not decreasing the amount that current ACC teams make. To me, that would mean that the current SEC teams would have to get a pay raise to take in FSU and Clemson.

That's an AWFUL LOT of extra cash ESPN would have to fork out for schools it is already making money off of at a lower rate. Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[stinger78]

For this to work, ESPN would have to increase the pay to the SEC enough so that FSU and Clemson make more than they do in the ACC and also make it worth the SEC taking them in while still not decreasing the amount that current ACC teams make. To me, that would mean that the current SEC teams would have to get a pay raise to take in FSU and Clemson.

That's an AWFUL LOT of extra cash ESPN would have to fork out for schools it is already making money off of at a lower rate. Doesn't make sense to me.

Yep. I’m not sure how much headroom there is in these contracts. Having to cut game time to allow more commercials indicates to me there may not be too much.

 

[WreckinGT]

I agree. If I were Jim Phillips and the ACC, I would be telling the member universities to hold steady and tell FSU (and Clemson) "there is no value you can put forward that will break the GoR. You can buy yourself out of the Conference and can leave for greener pastures, but your B***S are mine until 2036."

While this sounds great, Jim Philips hasn't exactly shown himself to be much of a leader nor does he have any power anyways. He will do whatever ESPN orders him to do.

 

[TooTall]

Yes, UNCheat is a contender for the $ec. Why would you even question that they aren't?

 

[UgaBlows]

For this to work, ESPN would have to increase the pay to the SEC enough so that FSU and Clemson make more than they do in the ACC and also make it worth the SEC taking them in while still not decreasing the amount that current ACC teams make. To me, that would mean that the current SEC teams would have to get a pay raise to take in FSU and Clemson.

That's an AWFUL LOT of extra cash ESPN would have to fork out for schools it is already making money off of at a lower rate. Doesn't make sense to me.

don’t underestimate their desperation to get out of the ACC, they would probably be willing to take partial payouts equal to what they get now from the ACC contract until the next SEc contract is negotiated.

 

[UgaBlows]

Yes, UNCheat is a contender for the $ec. Why would you even question that they aren't?

Lol yeah thats some SEC level enthusiasm right there. Now do UVA, the other school the SEc supposedly wants SO bad.

 

[LT 1967]

Interesting proposal concerning the Group of Five Teams breaking away and setting up their own Playoff. Apparently, Derreck Dooley is trying to organize this with Private equity involvement.

This may be a far-out proposal but this is an interesting read by Dennis Dodd of CBS. See Attached.

 

[LT 1967]

Sorry that I could not attach file that I mentioned above. The article is "Group of Five Playoff pitched by Derek Dooley" by Dennis Dodd if you want to look up. I will continue to see if I can attach.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Sorry that I could not attach file that I mentioned above. The article is "Group of Five Playoff pitched by Derek Dooley" by Dennis Dodd if you want to look up. I will continue to see if I can attach.

Link here...