ACC 'disappointed' Clemson refused to move football game vs South Carolina to Black Friday

CLEMSON — Clemson University rejected an opportunity to move its football program's home game against South Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 30, to Friday, Nov. 29, according to Pickens County court documents.

In an email dated May 7, 2024, from ACC senior associate football commissioner Michael Strickland to Clemson athletic director Graham Neff, Strickland stated Clemson "refused" to move its home game vs. South Carolina to the day after Thanksgiving despite ESPN and the ACC mutually requesting it.

"The Conference Office is disappointed in Clemson University’s lack of cooperation on this matter," Strickland wrote. "As all ACC members know, it is incumbent upon the ACC and its institutions to work in good faith with ESPN on football scheduling issues.

"This cooperation maximizes the value of our relationship with our media partner and strengthens our collective future. Clemson’s decision not to do so in this instance is harmful toward that goal." 

The email, which was submitted as an exhibit in Pickens County, South Carolina, by Clemson, stated the ACC secured "concessions" from ESPN to make the move to Black Friday "more agreeable" for Clemson. Yet, the university still refused despite other ACC teams agreeing to play on Black Friday on previous occasions.

Those concessions included: a noon ET start time on Nov. 23 vs. The Citadel, a confirmed primetime game on Nov. 29 vs. the Gamecocks, an agreement to switch the scheduled 2027 Labor Day Monday conference game vs. NC State to a Clemson home game, a limit of two road ACC games in 2024 played in primetime and an agreement that South Carolina would host a future Black Friday game vs. Clemson.

Clemson and the ACC have been engaged in litigation in South Carolina and North Carolina against each other since March. The legal battle started after Clemson filed their initial complaint against the ACC in Pickens County over the conference's grant of rights deal and withdrawal penalty on March 19. The ACC responded a day later with its countersuit in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00