Noles News: Unequal revenue distribution in ACC gets another supporter in UNC

Recruiting

A new three-star rating and No. 1 in the country ranking for 2024 kicker commit Jake Weinberg (though he has yet to receive a composite score):

FSU currently has the No. 4 class in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

You can catch up on all the latest Florida State football recruiting news and pick the brains of our recruiting staff in the latest edition of our recruiting thread.

Class of 2024 commitments

QUARTERBACK: 4 star Luke Kromenhoek (GA)

RUNNING BACK: 5 star Kam Davis (GA)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Camdon Frier (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Tawaski “TJ” Abrams (FL)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Keishawn Mashburn (FL)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Jamorie Flagg (FL)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 4 star Jordan Pride (FL)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 4 star CJ Heard (GA)

KICKER: Jake Weinberg (FL)

Football

FSU is back out on the field today for its second practice of the spring, after kicking it off with what head coach Mike Norvell described as a high-effort, “quick” showing.

Could we be getting closer to an unequal revenue-sharing model in the ACC? After both Florida State athletic director Michael Alford and Clemson athletic director Graham Neff made their calls to move to a new distribution system in the conference, North Carolina’s athletic director Bubba Cunningham is now advocating for it.

On Tuesday, he spoke to North Carolina radio station WRAL in favor of making sure the heavy players in the conference get a bigger slice of the pie.

From their site:

“Equal distribution was very appropriate, particularly when you had eight schools in your league,” Cunningham said Tuesday on 99.9 The Fan’s “The OG” with Joe Ovies and Joe Giglio.

“As your league expands, the footprint expands, the number of sports that you offer differs, the overall value to the league and its media markets is different, and I think some of us are starting to suggest we need to re-examine that and take a look at where is the value and how do we distribute the money differently so that we can ensure the teams that want to invest the most, the schools that want to invest the most will be rewarded for that investment. That discussion is just beginning.”

“As you look at the other leagues and see the gap, it becomes critical sooner rather than later.”

“I’m not sure you’re going to satisfy everyone with a differential payout. In fact, I’m relatively confident you’re not going to satisfy anyone. Because some aren’t going to think they have enough and others feel like they took an unnecessary haircut.”

“What we’re trying to do is raise the level, so we can maintain a competitive standard nationally. I don’t believe that you have to have as much money as everyone to be competitive. You’re looking at Texas and Ohio State, $200 million budgets. We’re not going to be at $200 million, but if we get a few more million or somebody else can, then I think that’s going to make a difference in retention of coaches.

“There’s no telling where the NIL is going and what other compensation models might look like as we move forward. I think all those ideas will play out in next couple of years, but you’re going to need money to finance the new economic structure for college sports.”

On February 24, Alford made Florida State’s first major public power move in try and shake up how money gets sent out, with him bluntly stating at a Board of Trustees meeting that “We cannot be $30 million behind every year compared to our peers...at the end of the day, for Florida State to compete nationally something has to change moving forward.”

Less than 24 hours later, Neff spoke with South Carolina paper The Post and Courier, telling them: “Is it time revenue distribution within conferences, or at least the ACC, is done differently? Yeah, I’ve been very active in those conversations within the league and continue to expect to take a leadership role in our desire for that to be a changed circumstance. Urgently.”

What would a model look like for the ACC, and how much could FSU stand to benefit? Jon Loesche took a look recently and broke it all down.

Basketball

FSU saw a painful season mercifully end on Tuesday, with the Seminoles losing 61-60 in a fashion that befits this year’s squad — a foul on a layup attempt giving Georgia Tech the chance to make a game-winning free throw in the first round of the ACC Tournament. At one point, Florida State led 40-29.

Baseball

No. 21 Florida State bounced back from a disappointing weekend series loss to FGCU, scoring 10 runs to take down Bethune-Cookman in a midweek win.

FSU athletic director Michael Alford was named to the NCAA Baseball Committee on Tuesday:

Alford has a strong background in college baseball including being a former player and having had sport oversight and leadership experience with several highly successful baseball programs.

He will serve a four-year term on the Baseball Committee.

Softball

All Sports

FSU beach volleyball is in Atlanta for the Day of Duals tournament hosted by Georgia State — the Seminoles are set to take on Coastal Carolina, Mercer, and Georgia State today.

Florida State athletes Samantha Vear and Tazman Abramowicz punched another ticket to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, with each already having qualified in a previous event.

Via FSU Sports Info:

Vear finished sixth in the women’s 3-meter competition and will dive both springboard events at the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships from March 15-18 back at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center. Abramowicz finished fifth in men’s platform and will add that to his list in Minneapolis, Minn., from March 22-25.

Florida State golfer Frederik Kjettrup finished tied for second at the Cabo Collegiate Invitational at Twin Dolphin Club, shooting a final-round 67 to finish the tournament 5-under par (72-69-67).

Via FSU Sports Info:

Kjettrup recorded an eagle on the par-5, 593-yard first hole, which was also eagled by teammate Cole Anderson earlier in the tournament. He added six more birdies on Tuesday, tallying 15 birdies over his three rounds played.

Kjettrup has consecutive Top-2 finishes to begin his spring season, winning the Watersound Invitational and tying for second in Cabo. The junior was honored as the ACC Golfer of the Month on Monday.

Did you know that five of the films up for awards at this year’s Oscars have a Florida State connection?

From the school:

Allison Rose Carter was co-producer of the multi-nominated film “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which is up for Best Picture and Best Director. In addition, three films nominated for Best Animated Feature have FSU alumni connections. Marc Ostroff was a finance executive and Sara Bennett Crowley served as production manager on “Pinocchio”; Brendan Murphy was associate production manager on “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”; Ostroff also served as a finance executive on “The Sea Beast,”; and Ivette Garcia was casting director for a Best Animated Short nominee.

“The FSU film school taught me that I was most interested in the daring challenges of independent film and brought me together with a group of like-minded adventurers,” Carter said. “There are so many people at FSU who helped bring me to where I am, and I will forever be grateful.”