Report: Big 12 Believes Clemson, Florida State Likely to Join

As Clemson’s lawsuits with the ACC continue, there are rumors that at least one conference is interested in the Tigers.

Sep 9, 2023; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney runs down the hill after rubbing Howard's Rock before the game with Charleston Southern at Memorial Stadium. / Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports

The lawsuits between Clemson, Florida State and the ACC threaten the fabric of the conference’s future, whether one takes the side of the Tigers and Seminoles, or one takes the side of the conference.

With “talking season,” or media days underway, there are already rumors about another wave of college sports realignment starting with the ACC at its epicenter thanks to those lawsuits.

The thought is that if Clemson and Florida State are able to find a way to exit the ACC, either the SEC or Big Ten would be the most likely landing spots. But a third conference reportedly wants in on the action.

Jason Scheer, who covers the Arizona Wildcats for Arizona Authority, which is a 247Sports site, was in Las Vegas recently for Big 12 Media Days. This was his first time as the Wildcats, along with Arizona State, Colorado and Utah, joined the Big 12 this season.

With that, Scheer is already developing sources within the new league and sourced a report earlier that the Big 12 does have designs on the two schools.

According to sources, there is an internal belief in the Big 12 that Florida State and Clemson are likely to join the conference within the next year or so.

— Jason Scheer (@jasonscheer) July 14, 2024

Scheer was one of the leading reporters around the disintegration of the Pac-12 last year and provided well-sourced accountings of what was happening in the league as it devolved after USC and UCLA opted to join the Big Ten.

The ACC benefited from that a bit as it took in both Cal and Stanford, along with SMU, for this athletic year. But none of those schools are getting a full share of league revenue.

This came before a couple of other reports on the matter.

Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported that the Big Ten and the SEC were “unlikely” to pursue Florida State for expansion, citing how “disruptive” a partner they has been of late. The report did not mention Clemson.

It also indicated the Seminoles were not a candidate if they left the conference but the ACC survived. It did not indicate what either league might do if FSU left and the ACC imploded.

The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel also wrote about Florida State and Clemson joining the Big 12 in a recent mailbag. He indicated that before anything could happen, they would have to resolve their lawsuit with the ACC, which could take time.

But there is a date by which FSU and Clemson may want clarity, and that’s February of next year.

That is when ESPN’s look-in begins, which allows the network to determine if they want to continue the remainder of the TV deal with the ACC, which goes from 2027-36.

The league’s stability could be a factor in their ultimate decision.

For now, everyone watches and waits while Clemson, FSU and the ACC go to court in three different counties.