It’s no secret that Florida State has been making waves in the ACC in recent months. The Noles seem determined to leave the conference by any means necessary, attempting to shake the foundations of the ACC and break their grant of rights.
Unhappy with their revenue shares in the league, the Seminoles and Tigers have existing lawsuits against the league and hope the litigation will lead to an early exit from the conference that they’ve called home for years – Clemson since the conference was founded in 1953 and Florida State since the 1991 season.
The cavalier approach that FSU has taken to getting out of the ACC hasn’t gone unnoticed, though, as folks from other conferences appear to have seen enough from Noles to know that they might be more trouble than they’re worth.
According to Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, the Big Ten and SEC are “unlikely to add Florida State if if it the ACC and it survives.” The last portion of that quote is noteworthy, as it seems to leave the door open for the Big Ten and SEC to add the Noles if the ACC were to collapse – which would almost certainly be the case if the duo of Florida State and Clemson were to depart.
The folks in Tallahassee haven’t made many friends in going about things they way they have recently, either. McMurphy says that one of the reasons the Big Ten and SEC would pass on the Noles is the fact that they’ve been a “disruptive partner.”
Matt Hayes of Saturday Down South added to the sentiment with this quote from a Big Ten source.
“I don’t know who’s advising [Florida State] right now, but they’re doing them a disservice.”
With the college football landscape continuously changing, there’s something to be said for programs and administration who place a priority on loyalty and continuity. Unfortunately, neither of those things appear to trump the almighty dollar as we enter the 2024 season.
Folks in the Big 12 know that better than anyone, as Texas and Oklahoma’s decision to leave for the SEC has had their world spinning for the past several seasons. Now, heading into the 2024 season, the 16-team Big 12 will be comprised of six founding members (1996), two teams who joined in 2012, four teams who joined in 2023, and four teams who will join this year.
Over the weekend, a report from 247Sports’ Jason Scheer suggested that the Big 12 could be a potential landing spot for the unhappy ACC members, going as far as to say there is “internal belief” that the Big 12 will add the Tigers and Noles within the next year.
Will we see the Big 12 be forced to expand again in a post-OU/Texas world? Potentially, but it could mean dealing with programs like Florida State in order to survive.
