CLEMSON — The saga between Clemson and the Atlantic Coast Conference continued on Thursday.

In the ACC’s latest filing in its countersuit against Clemson, the league presented emails to prove the school and the conference discussed an agreement to prevent one another from suing each other before August.

Of course, that did not happen, as Clemson sued the ACC over its grant of rights (GOR) agreement and exit fee of $130 million on March 19. With the GOR, it could cost Clemson somewhere north of a half billion dollars to leave the ACC if that opportunity presents itself.

The ACC vs. Clemson is slated for July 2 in the North Carolina courts. Clemson University will get its chance to argue that the conference’s counter suit should not be heard in the state of North Carolina.

The ACC presented emails in its latest filing to back up its claim that Clemson agreed to work with the conference regarding its own membership. This happened after the ACC sued Florida State before it could sue the league last December.

The emails backup the ACC’s earlier claims on March 20 following Clemson’s first motion to sue on March 19, as the league indicated at the time it was working with Clemson to prevent any litigation from occurring between the two.

This is the second straight time the ACC has thrown a legal punch at Clemson. The school’s motion to speed up its case against the ACC hit a snag last Friday after the ACC filed a motion to argue a hearing cannot be held in South Carolina before the conference can argue on a motion to dismiss the case.

Clemson’s lawyers filed a motion on May 30 requesting the Pickens County Court to a summary judgment hearing on or before July 12. The school’s argument is that the ACC can fulfill its obligations in the ESPN contract without having to hold on to Clemson’s GOR.

In its March 20 countersuit, the ACC said it seeks a declaration that the withdrawal payment is a “valid and enforceable” contract term applicable to Clemson. Also, it is declaration that the plain language of the GOR means what it says, and that Clemson’s GOR is exclusive and irrevocable through the term, regardless of whether Clemson remains in the ACC or not.

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