Florida attorney general launches investigation into College Football Playoff committee’s decision making

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) announced Wednesday her office has launched an investigation into the College Football Playoff selection committee’s decision to leave undefeated Florida State University (FSU) out of the four-team playoffs. 

In a news release, Moody said that her office’s Antitrust Division will send a civil investigative demand (CID) to the committee “for more information about the nature of possible contracts, conspiracies in restraint of trade or monopolization of trade and commerce relating to anticompetitive effects of the College Football Playoff.” 

Moody said the CID will seek documentation and communication that related to deliberations from the Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, the NCAA, the Group of Five conferences, Power Five conferences and others on the matter. It is also seeking documentation related to restrictions the conferences have against alternate playoff schedules, and the committee’s standards relating to ethics and conflicts of interest. 

The investigation will also seek to “identify all individual votes and vote tallies by members in the deliberations, all persons who received access to any votes, all persons present during any vote and any individual knowledgeable about the administration or use of the software or program used to record or tally votes.” 

“I’m a lifelong Gator, but I’m also the Florida Attorney General, and I know injustice when I see it. No rational person or college football fan can look at this situation and not question the result,” Moody said in a statement, saying her office is demanding answers “not only for FSU, but for all schools, teams and fans of college football.” 

“In Florida, merit matters. If it’s attention they were looking for, the Committee certainly has our attention now,” Moody added. 

Moody’s announcement comes a week after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said he plans to set aside $1 million from the state’s annual budget for potentially filing ligation over FSU’s controversial snub from the College Football Playoff. 

DeSantis was among multiple Florida politicians who railed against the College Football Playoff committee’s decision to snub the undefeated Seminoles and pick instead the University of Alabama to fill out the four-team playoff field, despite the Crimson Tide’s one loss.

Joining Alabama and the University of Texas Longhorns in the playoff are the undefeated University of Michigan Wolverines and University of Washington Huskies. 

Florida State will instead take on the University of Georgia Bulldogs on Dec. 30 in the Orange Bowl.