College football expansion: Florida State reacts to realignment rumors
Florida State was listed as one of the "Magnificent Seven" members of the ACC who were reportedly looking at the league's agreement to see if it (and they) could possibly get out of it and make a jump as the historic trend of college football expansion continues this offseason.
But the Seminoles athletic director wanted to go on the record about those rumors, coming out and saying that the school wants to stay in the ACC going forward.
Michael Alford has publicly expressed confidence that the ACC will be able to stay competitive in the current media market among college football's elite and told ESPN football reporter David Hale that Florida State is "thrilled to be in this league and want to stay here."
It's not surprising that decision-makers at top schools would confirm their loyalty to their existing conferences in the present, but behind the scenes many higher-ups are concerned about falling behind in an ever-bigger market.
Back in February, Alford's comment that "something had to change" in the ACC went viral, as did his remark that the idea of Florida State buying its way out of the conference wasn't feasible.
A report from Sports Illustrated revealed Florida State as one of seven ACC members who were privately discussing if they could possibly get out of the league's apparently iron-clad media rights deal.
Any departure before that contract is up in 2036 would cost the schools dearly: a reported exit fee in the neighborhood of $120 million.
In the meantime, the ACC is set to earn tens of millions less per year than the SEC and the Big Ten, the latter league signing a deal worth more than $1 billion per year, compared to the ACC's deal, currently worth $240 million.
Hence all the pressure that Florida State and the ACC's other bigger names like Clemson, Miami, and North Carolina, to push for a bigger slice of the pie in the league's current media contract.
If not, Florida State and other elite ACC names could fall far behind in the race for all the money TV networks are throwing at college football brands.
(Hale)
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