Florida Attorney General Launches Antitrust Investigation Into College Football Playoff Committee's Exclusion Of Florida State

The attorney general for the state of Florida has launched an antitrust investigation into the decision by the College Football Playoff Committee to leave Florida State out of the playoffs. The news comes on the heels of Florida political leaders calling for transparency into why the Seminoles were left out.

Before making an announcement on social media, Attorney General Ashley Moody sent the College Football Playoff committee a civil investigative demand letter. As part of the announcement, Moody made it clear that she's a Florida Gators fan, but says it's clear their was an injustice done to the Seminoles.

“I’m a lifelong Gator, but I’m also the Florida attorney general, and I know injustice when I see it,” Moody noted in a statement. “No rational person or college football fan can look at this situation and not question the result. The NCAA, conferences, and the College Football Playoff Committee are subject to antitrust laws.

“As it stands, the Committee’s decision reeks of partiality, so we are demanding answers — not only for FSU, but for all schools, teams and fans of college football.”

If you were thinking this was some type of elaborate joke, today's announcement should make it clear that the attorney general thinks they actually have a leg to stand on.

The office sent the CFP  a civil investigative demand, which is not a criminal subpoena, but for civil cases.

What Does Florida's Attorney General Want From CFP Committee?

The letter sent to the CFP committee demands that all communications between the committee and the NCAA, along with ESPN and other conferences involved be sent over no later than Jan. 11. Also, the demands include the collective votes and any notes related to the voting process.

Along with this interesting set of demands that the committee does not have to turn over right now, the attorney general is also asking for communications related to the availability of a player when deciding how to vote. This demand is centered around the injury to Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis, who missed the final two games of the season following an injury against North Alabama.

This decision by the attorney general is an interesting way to go about trying to decide how much money Florida State lost by not being included in the playoffs.

Where Is This Headed Between CFP And State Of Florida

This whole ordeal wreaks of political nonsense and pandering to voters. In short, some Florida lawmakers are upset the Seminoles were left out, and want to raise their political capital within the state. Even with the state capitol being located in Tallahassee, this feels like a grandstanding move to garner more support during election season.

After receiving the demand letter from the attorney general, executive director of the college football playoff Bill Hancock released a statement regarding the 'overly aggressive reaction'.

"We will carefully review this demand for information, but it sure seems to be an overly aggressive reaction to a college football ranking in which some fans somewhere were bound to be disappointed," Bill Hancock noted.

I'd like to think the playoff committee would enjoy a mulligan on putting Florida State fourth in the rankings headed into the final weekend.

As much as this decision impacted the Seminoles, not having their quarterback is what led to the Seminoles being left out. Sure, the committee and television networks love the matchup between Alabama and Michigan, which will lead to monster ratings. But this decision to leave Florida State out should not be waved around at Seminole fans as a reason to praise the state government.

Can you imagine other teams around college football demanding answers through an antitrust lawsuit as to why they didn't make the playoffs in year's past?

Florida State was dealt a bad hand to end the 2023 season and people are upset, which is understandable given the circumstances. But this feels like a desperate attempt at making the committee look bad, while gaining voters in the meantime.

Time to move on, even if the committee got it wrong in the eyes of some college football fans.