Ron DeSantis Threatens To Sue NCAA Over Florida State's CFP Exclusion

Ron DeSantis has asked the Florida state legislature for $1 million in their new budget to sue the NCAA for excluding Florida State from the College Football Playoff. "My first-grader, my fifth-grader, and my preschooler - they are all Noles. They are big-time fans and they do the tomahawk chop and they were not happy. We are going to set aside $1 million and let the chips fall where they may," DeSantis told the chamber. However, it's largely a symbolic gesture. The college football season will be decided long before the budget is ratified.

The 13-0 Seminoles were excluded from the College Football Playoff, becoming the first undefeated Power 5 champion not to make the four-team playoff. 12-1 Alabama and 12-1 Texas, champions of the SEC and Big 12 respectively, made the playoff alongside undefeated Michigan and Washington. Head coach Mike Norvell said he was "disgusted" with the decision. However, the CFP committee pointed to the loss of both the Noles' first- and second-string quarterbacks as their deciding factor.

DeSantis Continues To Tank On the National Stage

DeSantis' refocusing on Florida comes as his presidential hopes look more and more futile. According to polling data from FiveThirtyEight, DeSantis remains a distant second in Republican primaries. However, he is still nearly 50 points behind Donald Trump. Furthermore, Nikki Haley has been steadily gaining on DeSantis. If current trends continue, DeSantis may fall into third place in the run-up to the Iowa Caucus.

Furthermore, DeSantis cannot run for governor again in 2026 due to term limits. However, it's clear that the firebrand politician is eager to see out his term overseeing the GOP EPCOT that he has turned the state into. Much like how Walt Disney, the founder of DeSantis' biggest foe, created EPCOT as a vision of a "model future", DeSantis has attempted to turn Florida into a vision of a GOP future on the state level. Sweeping control over education an healthcare access has DeSantis showcasing what a GOP supermajority can achieve. However, it is becoming more and more unlikely that he will be able to project that vision onto the national stage.

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