Florida Senator Rick Scott voiced his concerns over the NCAA’s “lack of transparency” for its decision to exclude Florida State University from the 2023 college football championships, even as Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville waived off the discussion as a “waste of time.”
The Florida Republican blasted the NCAA selection committee’s decision to exclude the Florida State Seminoles from the championships despite the team’s perfect 13-0 record and insisted that the sports governing body needs to “disclose” its decision process to show how Florida was left on the outside looking in.
Scott said that Florida State “did everything they were supposed to do” by having a perfect winning season. And he wants to know why the team was left out.
“Was this a financial decision? If you did the right thing, you should disclose everything. Be upfront about it. Disclose what happened, how they made the decision,” Scott said, according to The Hill newspaper.
Scott wants all relevant communications to show the decision-making process and says he thinks outside financial interests led to the NCAA’s snub of Florida.
“Here’s what we know. There was a financial interest by ESPN to have Alabama in. Was that part of the decision? I don’t know. Be transparent. Tell us what happened,” Scott added.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) speaks during the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit held at the Tampa Convention Center on July 23, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Scott also insisted that this snub could hurt FSU’s football program for years to come.
“Think about it,” Scott said. “Now when FSU wants to recruit somebody, some kid’s going to say, ‘You’re never going to get to play in the playoffs because I can come and play here and do everything right, and I’m still not going to play in the national championship.’”
Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has also jumped into action and has pledged $1 million in state financing to pay for litigation against the NCAA over the snub.
But the discussion is just so much needless handwringing as far as Alabama’s Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville is concerned.
“Ahh, that’s a waste of time,” Tuberville said, according to The Hill.
“They went by the criteria of who played the toughest schedule — all the criteria that they had,” added the Senator who spent years as a college football coach for Ole Miss, Auburn, Alabama, and Texas.
Indeed, Tuberville notes that he was left out one year despite his perfect record, too.
“There’s nobody more experienced to talk about this than me. I got left out in 2004, and we were undefeated,” the Sen. said about his 13-0 year when he coached the Auburn Tigers. He added that even then, the committee did “what they thought was right.”
“You feel bad for Florida State. I do. I’ve been in their shoes,” Tuberville exclaimed.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) walks out of the Senate Chambers during a nomination vote in the U.S. Capitol Building on August 01, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Tuberville also said it is pointless to launch investigations, especially since the conference goes to 12 teams next year with the changes being made for the coming seasons.
Tuberville was also taken aback by DeSantis putting a million dollars into litigation over the snub.
“A million dollars? “Not going to do any good,” he said, adding that the playoffs “start in about a month.”
“You wouldn’t have time to get anything done,” Tuberville said of lawsuits. “It’s not worth doing.”
Following up on his concerns, Scott sent a three-page letter to Boo Corrigan, the chair of the selection committee, demanding the details of the selection process.
Rick Scott has gone nuclear pic.twitter.com/bxCoBAzG0g
— Barstool FSU (@FSU_Barstool) December 4, 2023
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