Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody ordered an investigation into the College Football Playoff (CFP) over its decision to snub the Florida State University football team.
The decision marked the latest development in the raging controversy and came as Moody sent a civil investigative demand letter to the CFP. It is the organization responsible for administering the playoffs and the one that ultimately determined that FSU could not compete.
Investigation Over FSU Football Snubbing
This was despite the university's football team having an undefeated regular season. The Florida attorney general's office sought a long list of documents and information, including all communications with the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Southeastern Conference, and sports media outlet ESPN.
In a statement, Moody said that she was a lifelong Gator and the attorney general of Florida, noting that she knew injustice when she saw it. Her remarks come as she graduated from FSU's arch-rival, the University of Florida.
The attorney general said no rational person or college football fan can look at the situation and not question the result. She noted that the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), conferences, and the CFP are subject to antitrust laws, as per Politico.
Moody has the authority to launch an antitrust investigation and can also take legal action against companies, organizations, and individuals alleged to have committed state or federal antitrust actions. The attorney general argued that the probe would examine whether or not the CFP was involved in "any anticompetitive conduct."
The attorney general added that the CFP's decision currently suggests partiality, which has prompted officials to demand answers. She argued that this was not only for FSU but all schools, teams, and college football fans.
In response to the letter, the executive director of the CFP, Bill Hancock, said they would be carefully reviewing the demand for information. He added that it seemed an overly aggressive reaction to a college football ranking where some fans were bound to be disappointed.
Potential Partiality
The letter included Moody's desire to check for any potential contracts, combinations, or conspiracies in restraint of trade or monopolization or attempted monopolization or commerce that relate to anticompetitive effects of the CFP on the Group of Five Conferences as well as Power Five Conferences, according to NoleGameday.
The controversy comes as FSU finished 13-0 and won the ACC title game but was the first Power of Five conference champion to be left out of the playoff last week. CFP committee chair Boo Corrigan said that the decision was largely influenced by the injury of the team's starting quarterback Jordan Travis.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said last week that he was requesting $1 million to set aside for FSY to sue the CFP if it chooses. However, the Florida Legislature, which starts its new session next month, must agree on a spending plan for that effort to move forward.
As part of Moody's investigation into the CFP, she wants to learn about communications between the SEC, ACC, NCAA, ESPN Group of Five, and Power of Five conferences. These would relate to deliberations, compensation of committee members, how individual committee members voted, and others, said ESPN.
