Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday said he has $1 million ready for any lawsuits around the decision to keep Florida State University out of the college football playoff.

Mr. DeSantis, a Republican and 2024 contender for president, announced the pool of funds in a speech about his budget proposal for the coming year. FSU went 13-0 this season but was left out of the playoff while two teams with one loss — Alabama and Texas — made it to the final four along with Michigan and Washington.

“We’re setting aside a million dollars for any litigation expenses that may [come] as a result of this really, really poor decision by the college football playoffs to exclude an undefeated team who won a big Power Five conference championship,” Mr. DeSantis said.

Mr. DeSantis went to bat for FSU one day after former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in the Republican presidential primary, suggested the governor didn’t lobby hard enough for FSU before Sunday’s selection.

“Lets blame DeSanctimonious!!!” he wrote on Truth Social.

Mr. Trump, who famously moved from New York to Florida during his presidency, held a nearly 40-point lead over the governor in a November poll of likely Florida GOP voters.

Mr. DeSantis is vying with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy as the likeliest alternatives to Mr. Trump.

Mr. DeSantis outlined his budget one day before he takes the stage in Alabama for the fourth GOP debate. Mr. Trump refuses to debate. Mrs. Haley, Mr. Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will join Mr. DeSantis in Tuscaloosa at the University of Alabama — whose Crimson Tide edged out FSU for the playoff.

As a native of Florida and its governor, Mr. DeSantis said he wants to see the state’s schools vying for national championships. He also said his kids have adopted the Seminoles as their team while they live in the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee, home to FSU.

“They are all Noles, and they are big-time fans, and they do the tomahawk chop and they were not happy on Sunday when Florida State was left out,” Mr. DeSantis said. “So, it’s unfortunate we have to do that, but we are going to put aside $1 million and let the chips fall where they may on that.”

Mr. DeSantis said other college funding will include money for the Bright Futures scholarship program that lets some high-performing students attend premier schools at low cost or without tuition.

He will eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, arguing schools often try to raise tuition to fund the “divisive” initiatives instead of focusing on merit.

On the whole, he said, Florida schools are outperforming many colleges in the nation.

“I like those academic rankings,” he said, “I just want the football rankings to match them.”

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.