ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Sentinel and more than a dozen Florida news organizations have filed a complaint against Florida State, the school’s outside attorneys and the NCAA, alleging that the defendants violated state public records laws by not releasing correspondence related to FSU’s appeal of athletic sanctions.

The 24-page complaint, filed Monday in circuit court in Tallahassee, claims FSU and the NCAA entered into “a scheme created to avoid public access to records the NCAA sends to FSU.”
At issue specifically is a response from the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions to Florida State after the university appealed the NCAA’s punishment stemming from an academic fraud scandal.
The Committee on Infractions posted its response only on a secure NCAA Web site that does not allow the text to be copied, forwarded or printed out. Public-records requests to view the response have been denied.
“Absent an explicit statutory exemption, any document, regardless of its physical form or means of transmission, that is communicated to or received by FSU in the course of its official business is a public record,” the complaint states.
“The law firm GrayRobinson, as FSU’s attorney and agent, has entered into a ’web custodial confidentiality agreement’ as required by the NCAA. It accessed and reviewed this public record and communicated its contents to FSU officials. By entering into this scheme, the NCAA and FSU have evaded Florida’s Public Records Act and deprived the citizens of Florida of information of significant public concern.”
The lawsuit requests an immediate hearing, an inspection of the Committee on Infractions’ response and a finding that the NCAA’s use of a secure Web site to transmit information to a state university violates state public-records laws. The plaintiffs are also seeking an award for their attorneys’ fees and costs.
Florida State officials previously had said they had asked the NCAA to release the Committee on Infractions’ response, but that the NCAA denied the request.
“We look forward to the resolution of this lawsuit and hope it will lead to complete compliance with the public’s right to know,” FSU General Counsel Betty Steffens said in a statement released by the school on Monday. “We stand ready to act upon any order of the court.”
On Monday, the NCAA also issued a statement: “The NCAA will reserve comment regarding this lawsuit until we have received and had a chance to review it. As customary with NCAA processes, the outcome of Florida State University’s appeal will be made public once the decision is rendered by the NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee.”
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum wrote a letter Friday to NCAA President Myles Brand, stating that the NCAA must release its response to FSU’s appeal.
The school is appealing one of the penalties imposed by the Committee on Infractions. The committee ordered FSU to vacate wins in 10 sports for a cheating scandal that involved more than 60 athletes and three employees in the university’s Athletic Academic Support Services department.
In question are as many as 14 wins in football—a penalty that likely would prevent Coach Bobby Bowden from ever retiring as Division I’s all-time winningest coach—and two men’s track and field championships.
The appeal process is a long one that ultimately will include a hearing before the NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee.