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Florida State wants to leave the ACC, but for where?
Of course, the big question around here is the future of the ACC, especially now that the SEC and Big Ten are apparently going to make the new rules whether the NCAA wants to step aside or not.
Once those two greedy behemoths projected they will pay their member schools as much as $100 million each by 2029, the ACC has been dissatisfied with their projected $40-50 million by then.
FSU is making the biggest noise about leaving the ACC with Clemson not far behind. Both schools have lawyered up to see if they can nullify the Grant of Rights (or GOR) on the media deal John Swofford made when he was the the commissioner that runs through 2036. It seemed like a good idea at that time to keep more schools from following Maryland out.
So, Florida State is looking at the possibility of paying hundreds of millions of dollars to find a new home. My question, why would the SEC want the Seminoles, and what do they bring to the table if they do leave the ACC?
First of all, they bring a football program that went 13-0 last season and is apparently returning to its old Bobby Bowden days of domination in the ACC. Which SEC school would vote to admit FSU? And why?
We know the football coaches make all the decisions in the SEC and tell the athletic directors and presidents how to vote. Which SEC school would vote for admitting the Seminoles without a very good reason or two?
Well, those don’t exist. The expansion of the TV rights into the bustling markets of Tallahassee and Clemson won’t bring enough money into a league that would have to split it 18 or 20 ways by the time those moves happen.
And ESPN is not the cash cow it once was and won’t raise rights fees to go into two states where they already have the state universities and bigger alumni and fan bases, namely the Universities of Florida and South Carolina. The SEC would much rather expand into states where they have no presence right now, namely North Carolina and Virginia.
So FSU (and Clemson) better make sure what they are getting without having to take far less for a few years, like Stanford and SMU agreed to before fleeing the collapsing Pac 12 for the ACC.
If it were North Carolina and/or Virginia, the SEC would be getting football opponents that are manageable and kind of sexy and could get more TV money because those are maiden markets for that conference.
Neither FSU nor Clemson is a good fit for the Big Ten, so a move there is less likely for them than it would be for the Tar Heels or Cavaliers, which have their own problems with state governments if they threaten to leave.
Stay tuned, but it may be a blank screen.
Featured image via Associated Press/Karl B. DeBlaker
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