Noles News: ACC commissioner calls FSU, Clemson lawsuits "difficult, disruptive, harmful" (2024)

Recruiting

2026 offensive tackle Charlie Ward (yes, you read that name right) received a Florida State offer on Wednesday — his first Division 1 offer:

The Seminoles also offeredf 2026 linebacker Adam Balogoun-Ali, a four-star prospect and No. 7 linebacker in the class according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. The North Palm Beach prospect also holds offers from the Tennessee Volunteers, Florida Gators, UCF Knights, Miami Hurricanes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Syracuse Orange, Kentucky Wildcats, South Carolina Gameco*cks and NC State Wolfpack, amongst others:

Football

With the ACC undergoing legal battles vs. both Florida State and Clemson, Jim Phillips spoke on the “optimistic” outlook he holds in regards to the outcome — via CBS Sports, ESPN and the AP:

“I know you want to talk about Florida State and Clemson, It’s natural. I get it. I stand by every word that I’ve said before, in previous settings. It’s difficult, it’s disruptive, it’s harmful. But that’s the world we live in. And they have the ability to do the things that they’re doing.”

“You have to stay optimistic, and you work through these things. Again, I don’t know where it’s going to go, but I continue to remain optimistic. I continue to remain optimistic about our league.”

“I always am optimistic about a really good ending on difficult situations, and I won’t ever change until somebody else tells me differently. Am I going to fight and protect the ACC? Absolutely. I have to do that; that’s my responsibility. The convergence is here, and we’ll see where it goes.”

“These cases are going to take a little while. We’ll have to work through them. We have 10,000 student athletes that are really doing well that are performing at the highest level. I hope that we don’t lose sight of while all this is going on, the conference continues to do really well. We’ll manage what we have to manage.”

Phillips also touched on the new markets the conference will be entering into with the additions of Stanford, Cal and SMU:

“We have full distribution in our current states and our current markets, and that was something when I came in three and a half years ago I heard angst about: we’re not in all markets of where our school are (located) and we’re not getting the revenue off of that when you’re not in the market. So we’ve been in full distribution — and that’s the goal as we get into Northern California and into Dallas.”

See Also

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Phillps also spoke on the ACC taking a smaller cut of future College Football Playoff revenue — current reporting has the numbers as 29 percent for the Big Ten and SEC (over $21 million per school), 17 percent for the ACC (approximately $13 million), 15 percent for the Big 12 ($12 million ) and 9 percent for the Group of 5 conferences.

Via The Athletic and ESPN:

“I felt like I negotiated hard, just like every conference did, and we got to a place that at the end of the day, do you love it? You don’t love it, but it certainly was better than where we started and it’s more than we’ve ever had relative to CFP dollars. But I, again, understand it causes even a greater gap.”

“We have continued to try to close the gap. If we’re chasing money, then we’re chasing money. But I believe we’re also trying to chase success. And so if it’s just a money issue, which no one can show me that money equates success, you can maybe show me some examples, but I can show you some examples also, where schools have done really well on the national scene with some less revenue.”

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell was named the FWAA Super 11 Coach of the Year for his efforts to “provide outstanding media access to their program throughout the season:”

Norvell is the sixth recipient of the Super 11 Coach of the Year, the only current ACC coach to earn the recognition and the first Super 11 coach from a school in the state of Florida.

Norvell is in his fifth season at Florida State in 2024 and ninth as a head coach with an overall record of 68-31, including 23-4 over the last two seasons. In 2023, he became the eighth coach to win both the Dodd Trophy and Bear Bryant Award in the same season, earning each national Coach of the Year honor after leading Florida State to the seventh undefeated regular season in program history, an ACC Championship Game win over No. 14 Louisville and a No. 4 ranking in the final regular season Associated Press poll before an appearance in the Capital One Orange Bowl.

Norvell was also voted the 2023 ACC Coach of the Year and the AFCA Region 1 Coach of the Year. He was one of five finalists for the George Munger Coach of the Year Award presented by the Maxwell Football Club and one of 12 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.

Norvell produced the third 13-win season in Florida State history, joining the 2013 national championship team and the 2014 College Football Playoff semifinalists, and the first ACC title for FSU since 2014. Norvell was the sixth different ACC coach to lead his team to an undefeated record in conference play since 2000. Florida State placed a program-record 25 selections on the All-ACC teams, including at least one at every position, led by Player of the Year quarterback Jordan Travis. FSU’s eight first-team selections were the most in the conference, and Florida State also topped the ACC in second-team and third-team honorees.

Florida State had 10 players selected in last month’s NFL Draft, the third-highest total among all programs nationally and the most by any ACC team since Florida State’s ACC-record 11 picks in 2015. FSU was the only team in the country to have multiple defensive linemen, multiple defensive backs and multiple wide receivers selected, and 2024 was the first time in program history that five defensive players and five offensive players were selected in the same NFL Draft.

Florida State begins its 2024 season on August 24 in Dublin, Ireland, against Georgia Tech. Kickoff for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic was recently announced for noon Eastern Time on ESPN.

Baseball

With Dick Howser Stadium refurbished and ready to host games after last week’s storm damage, there’s been an adjustment to first pitch today — game one between Florida State and Georgia Tech will now begin at 7:00 p.m. from Tallahassee.

Softball

Florida State freshman Jasyoni Beachum was named as one of ten finalists for the USA Softball National Player of the Year — the first true freshman in school history to be named a finalist for the award and first Seminoles’ player since Jessi Warren and Jessica Burroughs in 2017:

Beachum is looking to join Jessica van der Linden and Lacey Waldrop as the only two Seminoles to win the award, and Beachum has made a great case to do so. Beachum has put together one of the greatest offensive seasons in school history in her first year of collegiate play. Beachum is hitting .436 with 15 home runs and 64 RBI. Beachum is on pace to break the school record for batting average (.430) and currently has the fifth-most RBI in a single season with 64. Beachum is one of just four players in Florida State history to hit 15+ home runs and record 60 or more RBI. The ACC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-ACC performer has already broken the freshman school record for RBI in a single season and is well on her way to break the freshman record for batting average, slugging percentage and on base percentage. Beachum needs just 13 more hits to break the freshman record for most hits in a single season and needs just five home runs to break Jessi Warren’s freshman home run record.

Beachum has also locked down the hot corner for the Seminoles and has continued Florida State’s tradition of great play at third base. Beachum has started 56 games at third base and has made just five errors on 149 attempts for a .968 fielding percentage. Beachum is the only player on Florida State’s roster to have started every single game this season. Beachum leads the team in hits, home runs, RBI, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, total bases, walks and assists. Beachum has been one of the toughest players in the country to strike out, striking out just 11 times in 172 at-bats. She has also drawn a team-high 31 walks and has been hit by five pitches.

The Top 3 Finalists will be announced on May 20 and those finalists will be invited to Oklahoma City on May 28 when the winner will be announced prior to the Women’s College World Series.

15th-seeded Florida State kicks off postseason play on Friday, hosting the Tallahassee Regional for the 10th year in a row.

Some notes, via FSU Sports Info:

• Florida State will be playing in its 23rd consecutive NCAA Tournament and its 36th overall NCAA Tournament this weekend.
• FSU holds a 108-78 record all-time in the NCAA Tournament and a 73-42 record in the NCAA Regionals.
• FSU has hosted a NCAA Regional in each of the last 10 seasons. They are one of just four programs to accomplish that feat joining Alabama, Oklahoma and UCLA.
• The past 12 times that FSU has hosted a NCAA Regional, they have advanced to the next round of play 10 times.
• Florida State will be looking for its 13th Women’s College World Series appearance.
• Friday will mark the 10th time that FSU and Chattanooga have faced off on the diamond with FSU holding a 9-0 advantage against the Mocs. Friday will mark the third time that the two teams have met in the postseason. FSU prevailed in a 1-0 thriller in the Tallahassee Regional in 2002, and the Noles won, 5-3, in 2007 at the Tuscaloosa Regional.
• Auburn will be making its third trip to the Tallahassee Regional and their first trip since 2018. FSU is 4-1 all-time against Auburn in the NCAA Tournament.
• UCF will be making its fourth trip to the Tallahassee Regional and its third trip in the past four seasons. FSU is a perfect 5-0 against the Knights in the NCAA Tournament.
• 13 out of FSU’s 25 wins have come via run rule.
• FSU entered April No. 26 in the RPI and jumped all the way to No. 13 before Selection Sunday allowing them to host a NCAA Regional for the 10th consecutive season.
• FSU has outscored its opponent 239-97 and are averaging 7.97 runs per game in its past 30 games.
• Florida State has put together one of the best offensive seasons that this storied program has ever seen in 2024.
• FSU has scored 433 runs this season and needs just 27 runs to break the school record for most runs in a single season.
• FSU is also on pace to break the school record for batting average in a single season. The 2019 team holds the record as they hit .330 that season. FSU is currently hitting .338.
• FSU has also hit the second-most home runs in school history with 85 and would need 21 home runs to break the 2019 team’s record of 105.
• FSU is averaging 7.60 runs per game which is sixth in the country and second in the ACC. FSU is hitting .338 as a team which ranks eighth in the country.
• FSU has scored 433 runs through 57 games this season which is on pace to break the school record of 459 runs scored by the 2016 team.
• In 57 games, FSU has scored 8 or more runs in 32 games. In 69 games last season, FSU scored eight or more runs just 22 times.

All Sports

Florida State men’s golf reached its fourth consecutive NCAA Championship after shooting 28-under at the NCAA Stanford Regional — good for a second-place finish:

This year’s NCAA Championships marks its first hosted at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. It will be held May 24-29.

Florida State’s 28-under score vs. par ties for its second-lowest in postseason history over three rounds played.

Senior Frederik Kjettrup nearly completed consecutive postseason wins after earning co-medalist honors at last month’s ACC Championships. He shot 11-under (67-65-67) to finish one shot off the lead, with three birdies and an eagle highlighting his superb final round.

Sophom*ore Luke Clanton (65-66-69) tied for fifth at 10-under, joining Kjettrup among seven golfers whom recorded each round in the 60s while out at Stanford Golf Course. Clanton added four birdies on his day.

Redshirt senior Cole Anderson (66-67-72) tied for 10th at 5-under, finishing a strong performance that was extended from his previous play at the ACC Championships when he won both his matches vs. Georgia Tech and North Carolina.

Senior Gray Albright (70-69-72) tied for 34th at 1-over and fellow senior Brett Roberts (69-73-70) went 2-over to tie for 36th.

FSU women’s golf head coach Amy Bond has been named as a finalist for the 2023-24 Division I Jackie Steinmann WGCA National Coach of the Year:

It marks the fourth consecutive year Bond has been named as a finalist for the WGCA National Coach of the Year Award.

Bond is a National Coach of the Year finalist for the fourth consecutive year. She is one of just six coaches who have been named to the National Coach of the Year watch list in each of the last four seasons.

Bond, the winningest women’s golf coach in school history, is in her 14th season as the head coach at Florida State. She has won 20 tournament championships, coached two Olympians, three ACC Golfers of the Year, 26 All-ACC selections and 17 All-Americans during her tenure at Florida State.

“It’s great to be recognized by your peers for this award,” said Bond. “I credit our players and our assistant coaches at Florida State for building our program into an annual national championship contender. We are looking forward to a great week here at nationals.”

Bond and her Seminoles enter championship week with three of the best national finishes in school history in the last three seasons: Ninth in 2021, fifth in 2022, and fifth in 2023. The three consecutive top finishes mark the first three times the Seminoles have finished inside the top 10 in the final standings at the NCAA Championship Finals. Under Bond, the Seminoles are one of only three schools in the nation (Florida State, Stanford, and Texas A&M) that have advanced to match play at the NCAA Championship finals in both of the last two years.

The Seminoles are one of only four teams in the nation that has played in each of the last eight NCAA Championship Finals. The Seminoles are joined by Southern California, Stanford, and Texas in an elite group of programs that have played during the final week of the season in each NCAA Championship since 2016.

Bond led the Seminoles to the team championship at the IJGA Country Club Collegiate in February to five top-five team finishes this spring. The Seminoles finished in fifth place at the NCAA Las Vegas Regional Championship to advance to the NCAA Division I Championship Finals. Under Bond’s tutelage, the Seminoles have finished in the top-five in each of their last eight regional championships including regional championships at Louisville in 2021 and at Tallahassee in 2022.