It is no secret that Florida State was unhappy after going undefeated and not qualifying for the College Football Playoff. They also aren’t very happy with the idea of making less TV revenue than UCF as the new Big XII goes into effect.
Florida State views itself as a top-ten caliber football brand, and they have good reason to. Look at this resume that the Seminoles have:
- 3 National Titles
- 19 Conference Titles
- 29 Bowl Winsv
- 23 AP Top 25 Finishes
- 3 Heisman Trophy Winners
- 45 Consensus All-Americans
Today, it was announced by a credible College Football reporter Brett McMurphy that Florida State is officially in the process of leaving the ACC.
Florida State starting process of leaving ACC "will have an ‘Oppenheimer-like’ ripple effect" thru out college landscape, source told @ActionNetworkHQ. As one of biggest TV brands, FSU could land in Big Ten or SEC, and if those aren't options, the Big 12, sources said
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 21, 2023
One would assume that the SEC would be interested in giving Florida an in-state rival, while the Big 10 would be interested in getting a footprint in Florida. The Big 10 have already shown that geography is a complete non-factor for adding teams. Their only holdback may be getting a second team to join so that there is at least some semblance of a geographical fit. Both times the Big 10 has expanded, they took a pair of geographic teams (USC/UCLA and Oregon/Washington).
But what if both conferences are content?
What if the SEC is content with Florida and Georgia being the big rivals? Or perhaps the Big 10 wants to see how cross-country travel and athletics work before diving in again. There is also the possibility that both leagues are tired of expansion.
Florida State is 13-0 and conference champions
By Perry Kostidakis@perrykos
Tomahawk Nation
The Big XII Wouldn’t Hesitate to Take Florida State
What we do know is that the Big XII wouldn’t hesitate to the Seminoles. The Big XII Conference may be the strongest football conference overall with no Rutgers, Vanderbilts, or Wake Forests, but they also lack the big-name teams.
The common college football fan flipping through channels doesn’t stop and listen if Oklahoma State, TCU, or BYU are being talked about. Yet, those are probably the three biggest brands the conference has at the moment.
Florida State would immediately change that. The Seminoles would immediately become the biggest brand in the conference and would give a huge boost to the overall look of the Big XII.
18th Team?
Obviously, this is a huge “IF,” but if Florida State did join the Big XII, the next logical question would be who would join them? Again, if FSU joins, it likely means the SEC and Big 10 aren’t expanding, leaving space for only one other ACC school (or three) to survive in a P3 league.
The most likely candidates would be Clemson, North Carolina, or Miami, however Tulane, Virginia, Pittsburgh, and Georgia Tech could make interesting cases to also join.
- Clemson – Recent success, footprint in South Carolina
- Miami – Another Florida school, It is hard to imagine Miami not finding a P3 home
- Tulane – Lousiana market, most likely if the ACC still manages to survive
- Virginia – Virginia market, sleeping giant
- Pittsburgh – West Virginia rival, middle of Big 10 country
- Georgia Tech – The Georgia market is very attractive for any conference
What About the Buy-Out?
This is the biggest issue with teams leaving the ACC. Florida State appears to be going towards a “declaratory judgment,” which essentially says that they can’t legally be bound to a contract that is so outlandish it should have never happened (which would make other contracts in sports very interesting going forward).
If they can get this to pass, it would give the blueprint for other teams to follow. Regardless of what happens, it seems that even during bowl games, recruiting, and the transfer portal drama, there is always room for more college football chaos.
