Conference Realignment: Florida State Trustees Consider Leaving ACC

The news of Florida State wanting out of the ACC isn’t new, but now the Florida State Trustees have expressed the push to leave. Former FSU quarterback and board of trustees’ member Drew Weatherford said, “It’s not a matter of if, but how and when?”

Florida State, along with the rest of the ACC, is locked into a grant of rights (GOR) deal until 2026. The GOR gives the ACC the media rights over all of its programs. If Florida State wanted out, the Noles would have to pay a hefty penalty.

Needless to say, Florida State is working to find a way out sooner rather than later. Clemson and Miami are the other two programs pushing to get out. While Clemson and Florida State are the more attractive programs, Miami sits in the city of Miami. A giant media hub.

However, Florida State has expressed interest in staying in the ACC if the revenue distribution was adjusted. The Big Ten and SEC have both signed major media rights deals that are very lucrative for the members.

For example, Vanderbilt will make almost $30 million more than Florida State with the new deal. Florida State President Richard McCullough spoke to the board of trustees on Wednesday.

McCullough had words to say about the $30 million discrepancy, “not a sustainable position for us.” He continued to state that a major move is not known but it won’t be 2036.

Due to the nature of college football, a program and or conference that is not all in on paying the price to compete at the highest level will fall.

Prime example, Miami was at the top of college football until the school decided football wasn’t a priority. Since 2003, Miami has been fighting to get back up to the top.

Big Ten Adding Four

As much as FSU would like to leave for the Big Ten, there has been rumblings that four PAC-12 schools might get the call first. With news of Colorado leaving for the Big-12, the Pac-12 is on life support.

Oregon and Washington officials have recently spoken to the Big Ten about expanding. In 2022, news broke that USC and UCLA were heading to the Big Ten. The news stunned college football but makes a lot of sense for the Big Ten.

USC and UCLA would lock up the media markets in Los Angelous. Not to mention, both programs have a prestigious history in both football and basketball.

Adding in Oregon and Washington would further extend the Big Ten’s reach into the Northwest. Stanford and Cal have both been linked to go as well. Stanford is the ivy league school of the west coast and Cal isn’t too far behind either.

Who’s Left Over

Now, the question is what programs are left over? Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah have all been linked to the Big 12. This move make sense on for those programs to leave the Pac-12.