Clemson makes its position clear on PCSA amid ‘Gang of Four’ accusation

Clemson released a statement on the Protect College Sports Act on Friday afternoon, following one North Carolina put out earlier in the day. Both statements arrived after a lobbying group that supports the bill accused the two schools, along with Florida State and Miami, of endangering it in the House.

Clemson's statement backs the bill and the bipartisan effort behind it in its opening lines before turning to the realignment fight.

"Clemson has consistently supported the PCSA while advocating for a narrowly tailored provision addressing conference composition. This critical flexibility would strengthen the legislation without undermining its core objectives," Clemson said in the statement. "Clemson is not seeking to delay or derail the PCSA. We are working to ensure the final legislation protects the ability of institutions to adapt, compete and succeed at all levels."

The "delay or derail" line answers Saving College Sports, the group self-funded by Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell. In a statement shared on Thursday, the group branded Clemson, North Carolina, Florida State and Miami a "Gang of Four" that wants "to either get out of the conference or break it apart." It also argued their amendment would sunset the provision so they could leave the ACC immediately.

North Carolina answered first, and the two statements share the same vocabulary. "Supporting the bill and seeking to improve it are not in conflict," UNC said in its statement. "Congress can protect college sports without litigating conference composition, and we look forward to working with the House to get this legislation enacted," the school added.

What would Clemson's 'narrowly tailored' change actually allow?

The presidents and chancellors of the four schools sent a letter last week to House Speaker Mike Johnson asking for two edits. One raises the bill's cap on conference membership from 20 schools to 22. The other removes the requirement that a school leaving one covered conference spend three years as an independent before joining another.

The Big Ten has 18 members and the SEC has 16, so a 20-school ceiling leaves room for two more Big Ten schools and four more in the SEC. At 22, those openings become four and six. Dropping the independence period would also spare a departing school three years without the conference revenue distributions it collects now.

Clemson sued the ACC over its exit fees in 2024, a year after Florida State did. The eventual settlement made 2030-31 the season the fee levels off around $75 million per school.

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips has described a 14-to-4 split inside his league. "It's rare to have unanimity on anything as it relates to a bill," Phillips said on Tuesday at ACC basketball media days in Charlotte. "We have 14 schools that feel really good about it that want to sign it, and we have four schools that have an issue with a portion of it, so that's what I'm going to continue to push toward the decisionmakers and those that have written the bill to date."

The Senate passed the bill 77-22 on Sept. 28. House Republican leadership has said it will not call members back to vote before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.