A Leon County circuit judge Tuesday refused to put on hold a lawsuit filed by Florida State University against the Atlantic Coast Conference, as a big-money battle between the university and its longtime conference continues to play out in two states. After an all-day hearing, Circuit Judge John Cooper denied a request by the ACC for a stay of the lawsuit. Cooper’s decision came five days after a Mecklenburg County, N.C., judge rejected a request by FSU to dismiss — or put on hold — a separate lawsuit filed by the conference against the university. The two rulings leave a tangle of legal issues in the battle, which centers on media rights and could end with Florida State leaving the conference. The issues are being closely watched in college athletics, which is undergoing major conference realignments. FSU filed its lawsuit Dec. 22 in Leon County challenging what it describes as more than $500 million in penalties if it wants to exit the conference. But the day before the Leon County case was filed, the conference filed a lawsuit in North Carolina against FSU about many of the same issues. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/fsu-acc-case-ruling-florida/67-72c96c7c-02c9-4d16-83d1-1c484c923a83 ►Subscribe: https://on.wtsp.com/youtube ►Website: https://www.wtsp.com/ ►Facebook: https://facebook.com/10TampaBay ►X: https://twitter.com/10TampaBay