Even though SEC media days are this week, they have seemed to take a backseat to the hottest topic in college football right now: conference realignment. As hot as this topic has been, it only appears to be heating up because there is just so much going on.
It’s a well-known fact that the ACC is having its fair share of issues. With five pending lawsuits between the conference and Florida State and Clemson, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that there is trouble on the horizon. We have seen stuff from Josh Pate (247 Sports), Ross Dellenger (Yahoo! Sports), and Jason Scheer (247Sports) all report things as of late regarding the Big 12 and the two schools from the ACC (Florida State and Clemson).
But the cherry on top of all this craziness happened on Tuesday morning. According to a report from Brett McMurphy at the Action Network, the Big Ten and SEC are unlikely to add Florida State if it leaves ACC & ACC survives because “adding FSU doesn’t make financial sense, no desire to expand & “they’ve been a disruptive partner.”
When guys like Brett McMurphy, along with other credible media members, start saying stuff like this, you take it a little more seriously. All of this has happened within the last few days, and there is a lot to unpack here.
The Florida State/Clemson to the Big 12 talk is now making national headlines. It’s no longer just a pipe dream. People always say where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and let me tell you, I can see the smoke from miles away.
What I really want to focus on here is what Brett McMurphy reported. Don’t get me wrong, what Dellenger and Scheer said are great, there isn’t as much meat on the bone as what McMurphy said. We already know there are talks behind closed doors through certain channels and I would hope that the Big 12 feels confident in bringing in Florida State and Clemson. Brett Yormark is a confident man no matter the situation and that is just a part of what makes him so great and believable.
The key words to focus on here are “if the ACC survives.” I take this as if the ACC falls apart on its own, then the SEC and Big Ten may truly be interested. If all hell breaks loose and the ACC crumbles, maybe the SEC or Big Ten won’t feel as guilty. Perhaps they don’t want to be the ones to cut their legs out from under them like they have already done at previous conferences.
And let’s be real here. If the Big Ten or SEC wakes up one day and is suddenly interested in Florida State or Clemson, then those two schools are going to go where they can get paid the most money. No offense to the Big 12, but they would be option three in that group. Remember when all those reports of Big Ten not being interested in Oregon and Washington happened last year? Guess what, both of them are now playing in the Big Ten. So, let’s not slam that door shut just yet.
From a Big 12 perspective, they don’t care about all that. They want Florida State and Clemson regardless of what happens to the ACC. They don’t care that those two aren’t AAU schools (like the Big Ten would) or where they are on the map (like the SEC).
Now I know what some of you are thinking out there, didn’t the Big 12 just get rid of Texas and Oklahoma? Why would they want the headache of Florida State being a “disruptive partner”? Well, maybe it’s because they add value and stability to the conference.
Say what you want about Texas and Oklahoma but when those two were on tv, people watched. Even when the Longhorns were bad, people from all over the country watched. The same thing can be said about Florida State and Clemson. While they may not be as big of brands as either Texas or Oklahoma, they still are nationally relevant and draw eyeballs from everywhere.
Adding those two schools would bring the Big 12 within arm’s reach of the Big Ten and SEC. It would get them closer to the big boy table and would solidify the Big 12 as a power conference even more than what it already is. And when that next round of media rights is up, you think Florida State and Clemson won’t help bring in more money?
Forget about location, media markets or AAU status. Florida State and Clemson are two schools that will help the Big 12 more than hurt it. So to the answer to the question is yes. I would add them in a heartbeat if I could.
As for what’s next? We wait. There are still a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle here. Between the lawsuits and potential exit fees, who knows what will happen?
All I know is that the Big 12 won’t be sitting on their hands like in years past, not under Brett Yormark.
