TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The decision to exclude the Florida State Seminoles football team from this year’s College Football Playoffs was met with outrage across the internet and Florida. Now, the state attorney general is getting involved.
Attorney General Ashley Moody is requesting documents and communications as part of an antitrust investigation.
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“Attorney General Moody’s Antitrust Division is sending a Civil Investigative Demand to the Committee for more information about the nature of possible contracts, conspiracies in restraint of trade or monopolization of trade and commerce relating to anticompetitive effects of the College Football Playoff,” the attorney general’s office said in a release Tuesday.
Investigators are demanding all communications relating to deliberations between the CFP and the NCAA, ESPN and some of the college football conferences, including the SEC and the ACC.
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Investigators also want any documents related to restrictions regarding conferences and alternate playoff schedules, standards regarding ethics and conflicts of interest, as well as any votes and vote tallies by members in deciding which teams would take part in the playoffs.
The Florida State Seminoles went undefeated in 2023, with a 13-0 record. However, the team, which is a Power Five conference champion, was excluded from the playoffs in favor of teams that didn’t have undefeated records. It’s the first time in the committee’s 10-year history.
In the news release, Moody said the decision “reeks of partiality.”
“I know injustice when I see it. No rational person or college football fan can look at this situation and not question the result,” she said.
Read the full investigation request on the attorney general’s website.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced last week that his budget plan included money for any legal pursuits on FSU’s part.
I have included in my budget recommendations $1 million for litigation expenses that might come as a result of the NCAA’s poor decision to exclude our undefeated @FSUFootball team from the college football playoffs.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) December 5, 2023
We are with them all the way! pic.twitter.com/YAENaXMJUL
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