CLEMSON — Clemson University’s Board of Trustees gathered in a special called zoom meeting Tuesday to authorize the settlement of athletic litigations regarding the school’s complaint against the Atlantic Coast Conference.

On Monday, The Clemson Insider, along with several other outlets, reported Clemson’s BOT, Florida State’s board and the ACC’s were expected to vote on a settlement regarding their pending complaints.

Clemson’s BOT voted Tuesday that Clemson will settle with the ACC to end these disputes, which began on March 19 of 2024 when Clemson University filed a complaint against the ACC.

FSU’s complaint was filed in December of 2023.

The settlements are expected to include increased payouts to Clemson and Florida State, as part of a new brand initiative.

TCI learned through our sourcing, the new deal will give Clemson and other ACC institutions significant flexibility on the league’s Grant of Rights and significant increase of the ACC’s revenue distribution.

The new model is expected to go into effect on the next academic calendar (2025-’26).

Clemson and Florida State are expected to benefit the most from this new revenue distribution model. As reported by ESPN, the settlement will call for 40 percent of the ACC’s revenues to be spilt equally between league members, while the other 60 percent will be divided based on a five-year rolling average of television ratings.

Clemson could see its payout increase by $15 million or more per year, which will put the school financially within striking distance of some of the SEC and Big Ten schools it competes with on a yearly basis.

The ACC has already established a success initiative that allows its members to keep money earned from participating in the College Football Playoff. In other words, Clemson and SMU were allowed to keep all of the $4 million they earned from making the CFP in 2024.

–photo by Ken Ruinard / Imagn Images