Florida State Holds Best Odds to be Next Team to Join SEC
When the Southeastern Conference (SEC) brought in Oklahoma and Texas, two of the premier teams in the Big 12, the Big Ten responded by ransacking the PAC-12 for USC and UCLA.
These conferences are bringing in the top teams and building strong foundations, which will only inflate television money and competition. With stronger competition and bigger conferences, there’s nothing but room for expansion.
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With the potential of elite teams being added to the SEC by the end of the decade, oddsmaker Adam Thompson from Bookies.com developed hypothetical future odds for the next teams to be added to the conference. Of those selections, Florida State (+125) leads all teams, followed by Clemson (+200) as a close second.
The first six teams listed in the odds were Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) teams. So, the ACC will likely be the next conference the SEC will try to poach top teams from, and Florida State would make plenty of sense if they’re wanting to continue building a megaconference.
For schools, the SEC seems like the destination conference. As mentioned, the television money will be there, as well as the competition. With the number of teams that would jump on the opportunity to get into the conference, it would make the most sense for the conference to continue expanding.
Greg Sankey, the SEC Commissioner, explained that expansion beyond the current 16 teams isn’t the focal point of any conversations right now. Just because they’re not currently talking about it doesn’t mean it couldn't be on the horizon, though, as the impact of Texas and Oklahoma's arrival could change plenty.
It’s no secret that ACC teams are keeping their options open in terms of the conference they play in, and both Florida State and Clemson are leading that charge, both being the schools leading the odds to be the next to join the SEC.
As the Seminoles continue to rebuild their program and climb the ladder that, in their perfect world, leads to a national championship, a partnership between Florida State and the SEC only makes sense. The presence of Florida in the SEC may be the biggest hold-up, as they, along with other states, have a gentlemen's agreement to not allow any in-state expansion teams.
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