Florida State and Clemson currently have lawsuits against the ACC, and an exit appears to be on the horizon. But which conference will the Seminoles call home next? According to recent news, it may not be the Big Ten or the SEC.
SEC Not an Option for Florida State?
The ActionNetwork’s Brett McMurphy reported that both conferences have “multiple concerns about adding Florida State,” with sources listing the top three:
- Adding the Seminoles doesn’t make financial sense.
- “There’s no appetite for more expansion.”
- FSU has shown “it’s not a good partner.”
Last offseason, news broke that seven schools explored possible exits from the ACC before the league’s media deal with ESPN, which runs until 2036, expires. Then, Clemson and Florida State took the conference to court, claiming that the exit fees were “unconscionably high” and that the grant of rights only applied if the schools were part of the conference.
While the cases are ongoing in their respective states, the schools are all but out of the conference. However, according to McMurphy’s sources, that’s not a positive for the Seminoles.
“If the ACC doesn’t implode, Florida State could be in a dangerous spot,” the source said. “I don’t know if they have a home. Unless there’s a doomsday scenario and the ACC implodes, FSU is in a bad spot.” In fact, McMurphy stated that if the league dissolves, North Carolina and Virginia would be the top two teams the Big Ten and SEC targeted.
This spring, there were also talks about North Carolina pushing to leave the ACC, although those conversations have seemingly stalled.
For FSU, that would leave the Big 12, which the program doesn’t seem in love with at the moment. Yet, the same could’ve been said for Utah and Arizona State, who ultimately joined the conference after they saw the writing on the wall for the Pac-12.
In 2023, the Big 12 added four Group of Five schools in BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF. Then, this year, the conference added Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah while it lost powerhouses Oklahoma and Texas. At Big 12 Media Days last week, commissioner Brett Yormark had this to say about expansion:
“The Big 12 is exploring all options. Two years later, I guess you could say we’re still open for business.”
Now, that was during his opening remarks, and when he was questioned about adding more teams later on, Yormack mentioned that the conference’s focus is on ensuring its current 16-team setup is at its best.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey took a similar stance, saying that while the league is certainly monitoring the ACC’s situation, it is not engaging in conversations with any programs.
“As I said, we’re focused on our 16. I’ve said before at Media Days, I’m not a recruiter. My job is to make sure we meet the standard of excellence that we have for ourselves on a daily basis.”
KEEP READING: SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Takes Shot at Other Conferences in College Football Realignment Rant
However, he admitted Oklahoma and Texas, who both officially joined the conference this year, weren’t the only two programs he’s had conference realignment conversations with.
“[Oklahoma and Texas] are not the only phone calls I’ve ever had, but I’m not involved in recruitment. Our presidents have been clear that I am not going to entangle us in litigation around expansion.”
The SEC was responsible for jump-starting the recent conference realignment movement in 2021. That summer, Oklahoma and Texas approached the league about joining, and once the two historic programs notified the Big 12 they did not wish to extend their grant of television rights, the SEC’s presidents and chancellors voted unanimously to extend invitations to them.
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