Florida State, Clemson Test Antitrust and Contract Attack on ACC

One of the largest college sports conferences, the Atlantic Coast Conference, is defending aggressive antitrust and contract theories brought by Florida State University and Clemson University, two football powerhouses, and is fighting for home-field advantage in a North Carolina state court.

The stakes are high for the ACC and other conferences, which could see more claims like these from disgruntled teams if the conference doesn’t successfully beat them down. In these suits alone more than half a billion dollars in television broadcast rights and contract penalties are on the line.

On March 22, the Atlantic Coast Conference and Florida State ...