Miami Hurricanes are ‘interested observers’ in FSU’s ACC future
NEW YORK — While rival Florida State takes steps toward leaving the ACC, Miami is currently an “interested observer,” UM athletic director Dan Radakovich said.
“First of all, the University of Miami, we’re a proud member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Have been for many, many years,” Radakovich said at a press conference before UM’s appearance in the Pinstripe Bowl. “As all these things continue to come up into the marketplace and what Florida State is looking to do, we’re going to be very, very interested observers. But I think the conference is strong. I think we have a good operation there. Would we we like to have more resources? Sure. I think everybody would. We’re going to try to move forward and get those through the conference.
“But as this point in time, we’re interested observers and proud members of the ACC.”
FSU’s Board of Trustees voted Friday to sue the ACC to try to sever the conference’s media grant of rights agreement, which ties the school to the conference for the next 12 years. The lawsuit says leaving the ACC could cost the school $572 million. The ACC countersued FSU.
If FSU does leave the ACC, the conference will be severely weakened, as the Seminoles are one of the conference’s premier athletic programs and biggest brands.
“All ACC members, including Florida State, willingly and knowingly re-signed the current Grant of Rights in 2016, which is wholly enforceable and binding through 2036,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and ACC Board of Directors chair Jim Ryan said in a statement. “Each university has benefited from this agreement, receiving millions of dollars in revenue and neither Florida State nor any other institution, has ever challenged its legitimacy.”
No set date for new football facility groundbreaking
The Hurricanes announced plans for a new football operations center in January, and the school is still working toward starting construction, Radakovich said.
“We’re moving forward. It’s good,” Radakovich said. “We have some architectural drawings and construction drawings all pulled together. When we get back to start the next semester, we’ll look to get the final approvals put together and hopefully, we’re going to break ground very, very shortly.”
The facility is expected to feature a locker room, a fitness center, coaches’ offices, a “recruiting war room,” meeting rooms for different position groups, a simulator room, training facilities, a studio, gaming lounge, podcasting rooms and lounges for alumni and current players. It will be located on Dickenson Drive between the Watsco Center and the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility and would be approximately 150,000 square feet.
Radakovich said there is still no set date for groundbreaking on the facility, but he hopes to have groundbreaking plans early in 2024.
“We’ll hopefully pull that all together in the first quarter of 2024,” Radakovich said.
New York bowl events
The Big Apple had a lot to offer the Hurricanes outside of just the bowl game on Thursday.
Miami players and coaches had the opportunity to visit the 9/11 Memorial on Tuesday, go to Radio City Music Hall, ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange and more during their five days in New York City.
“From the moment we arrived, the way that we have been welcomed, the events planned for our players and the families of our coaches have been extremely entertaining, a lot of fun, a lot of energy,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “A lot of guys have never been to New York City before, so the energy of the city has certainly caught them by surprise.
“Sure, they’re really excited to play the football game, but spending the last four or five days up here has been just very different and an experience they’ll remember the rest of their lives and certainly are very appreciative of everyone’s efforts for making our stay such a great one.”
Cristobal, who worked at Rutgers when the 9/11 attacks happened, said the 9/11 Memorial had a big impact on his team.
“I can tell you, families and our players are going to come back to it to do it again and come back to New York and just in general to come back and do a lot of the things again,” Cristobal said. “The events have been off the charts. Everything just first-class. Everything. It just feels big. You know, it feels New York-ish. Our guys have really enjoyed it.”