FSU wants NCAA to release documents

Florida State is taking legal action to force the NCAA to make the Committee on Infractions' most recent correspondence with the university public, the school announced Friday.

Florida State is appealing the NCAA's ruling forcing the Seminoles to vacate as many as 14 wins because of a highly publicized cheating scandal. Vacating the victories could cost Bobby Bowden the title of college football's winningest coach.

Earlier this month, the NCAA's Committee on Infractions responded to FSU's appeal, but the June 2 document was in a read-only format and unavailable to the public. FSU officials say the format prohibits downloading or printing. That has made it technically impossible for Florida State to provide the document to the public in compliance with Florida law.

Several news media organizations have sued both the NCAA and FSU to compel the release of public records associated with the university's appeal. On June 17, FSU officials released a typed transcript of the document with the student names redacted, but several media outlets are still seeking the original document. FSU officials would have had to make the same redactions on the original document because of student privacy laws.

Friday, the university filed a "cross-claim" in Leon County (Fla.) Circuit Court, essentially against the NCAA. The university also seeks compensation from the NCAA for legal fees and other costs it has incurred because of the NCAA's refusal to release the documents in question.

"The university has consistently complied with the Public Records Act to the degree that it is able to do so," Betty Steffens, the university's general counsel said in a prepared statement. "We do not have custody or control of the documents in question."

The case is pending in Leon County Circuit Court and is set for a hearing on Aug. 5-6.

This is an entirely separate case from Florida State's initial appeal, which is ongoing. The NCAA's Infractions Appeals Committee will have a hearing most likely in Indianapolis, but FSU officials haven't received a date. It will give them a chance to plead their case in person with a decision rendered afterward.