Conference Realignment: Big Ten, SEC Reportedly unlikely to add Florida State if it leaves ACC & ACC survives

Conference realignment was the talk of the college football offseason a year ago, but other than Florida State and Clemson trying to leave the ACC, it has been much quieter this time around. Last offseason saw the Pac-12 implode with USC, Oregon, Washington, and UCLA leaving to join the Big Ten. Every other school except for Washington State and Oregon State left for the Big 12.

While Florida State and Clemson are wanting out and reportedly eyeing either the Big Ten or SEC, do the other conferences want them? According to a report from Brett McMurphy at the Action Network, the Big Ten, 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,”

Big Ten, SEC unlikely to add Florida State if it leaves ACC & ACC survives, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. Big Ten & SEC don’t want FSU because adding FSU doesn’t make financial sense, no desire to expand & “they’ve been a disruptive partner,” sources said https://t.co/YhOPDC3O1k
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 16, 2024

McMurphy went on to add that "If/when the Seminoles break free from the ACC, their top choices would be to join the Big Ten or SEC because of the huge difference in television media rights revenue, sources said.

However, there are multiple concerns about adding Florida State, sources said. Those reasons include the fact that it doesn’t make financial sense for either league, “there’s no appetite for more expansion” and FSU has shown “it’s not a good partner.”

If the ACC were to implode, there are two other schools that might get more attention than either Clemson or Florida State according to McMurphy.

"If the ACC no longer exists and the floodgates open, allowing a mass exodus from the ACC, North Carolina and Virginia would be highly sought after by the SEC and Big Ten, sources said."

This was of course a topic in the opening day of SEC media days yesterday and when asked about it, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey had this to say about the future of the SEC:

“16 is our today, and 16 is our tomorrow,” Sankey said.

“We’re focused on our 16, period,” the commissioner reiterated.

There has been a lot of speculation about whether the SEC would try to add Florida State and Clemson in the future, but college football analyst Paul Finebaum says that there is another school that is at the top of the SEC's wish list:

“I mean I think that is one of the trickiest areas,” said Finebaum. “Listen, Greg (Sankey) is very smart. He knows that’s out there. I’m sure he has got a fairly standard line there that goes back to what you heard from him three years ago. So I don’t think, even if asked, he is going to go very far or give very much away.”

“It’s North Carolina at the top,” Finebaum stated. “I think, after that, it’s a little bit unknown. There’s a million different theories. Would North Carolina take someone with them? Or would they just sit around?”

It would be interesting to see Virginia Tech's place in all of this, especially if the ACC were to implode. For now, it is best to sit back and see how everything falls into place.