Florida State, an outspoken critic of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s nationwide expansion, has ruled out shifting its football program to an independent.

University athletics director Michael Alford told The Athletic that becoming an independent in football was “not a true option,” saying the current landscape of college sports media and scheduling dynamics didn’t support such a move.

“I don’t think it’s an option because of scheduling and everything that comes along with that, and where media contracts are now,” Alford said. “But I’m not going to lie to you and say I didn’t spend 10 minutes on it.”

FSU’s stance differs materially from Notre Dame, which has remained in the ACC in all other sports the conference offers but relishes its long-held football independence.

The Seminoles, however, were one of three ACC members to vote against the conference’s addition of Stanford, Cal, and SMU to become a coast-to-coast entity, and rumors persist as to where FSU will ultimately go. Alford said FSU is “still analyzing what our options are.”

As that effort continues, FSU has also been linked to a potential private equity investment from Sixth Street. FSU president Richard McCullough described an “existential crisis” in which the Seminoles’ athletics department was running $30 million behind in annual revenue compared to rival schools in the SEC and Big Ten. 

“Each institution in the conference has different priorities. What’s Florida State’s priority? It’s to win championships and compete nationally across the board,” Alford said. “How do I provide resources and make sure that we’re providing those opportunities to our student-athletes? I need resources.”

Inter Miami has hit a roadblock in their efforts to sustain the incredible boost Lionel Messi provided this year.

The MLS team’s two-game tour of China was canceled just four days before the first match was to be played against Chinese Super League club Qingdao Hainiu. The tour’s promoter, NSN, cited the recent death of former Chinese premier Li Keqiang as the reason for the cancellation.

Last week saw unconfirmed reports of a venue change for one of the two matches, and then the cancellation of the second game. It’s unclear if those reported issues are in part to blame for the tour’s demise.

After not making the MLS Cup playoffs, Inter Miami’s plan to take the league’s newest and biggest superstar to China was initially met with great fanfare and seen as a win for MLS in its efforts to expand globally.

The club indicated it still wants to play in front of international fans and would continue working toward that goal with NSN — which works with major soccer brands and talents and has seven offices across four continents.

Missing Out On Messi

Since Inter Miami didn’t qualify for the postseason, the China tour represented another opportunity for MLS to showcase Messi in his new team and league to fans around the world. Now, the club and league will likely have to wait until 2024 to further capitalize on the Argentinian legend.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are still sorting out who will purchase the minority team stake that Josh Harris had to divest when he became the new owner of the Washington Commanders — and a new player is in the mix.

Michael Rees, co-president of alternative investment asset management company Blue Owl Capital, is the latest billionaire interested in acquiring the Steelers stake, according to Bloomberg. 

Previously, current Steelers minority investor Thomas Tull, a billionaire entrepreneur, was reportedly trying to increase his stake in the team by purchasing the stake up for grabs.

Before leading the $6.05 billion deal for the Commanders, Harris and longtime business partner David Blitzer were limited partners with the Steelers, holding a stake that represented less than 5% of the franchise. The Steelers are worth an estimated $4.63 billion, making a 5% stake worth about $232 million. Harris and Blitzer acquired their Steelers equity in 2020, investing a reported $140 million.

Bringing on Rees as a new co-owner would require the same vetting to which all incoming minority and majority NFL investors are subject, while selling the Steelers stake to Tull would be a simpler process since he’s already in the fold. It’s unclear if there will be any bidding battle between the two men or any other interested parties.

Harris is not the only former Steelers shareholder to become a full-fledged NFL team owner. David Tepper held a 5% minority stake in Pittsburgh before purchasing the Carolina Panthers for $2.27 billion in 2018.