Report: Florida State, Clemson Believed To Have Had Preliminary Discussions With Big 12 Conference

Is there another path for the Seminoles in the conference realignment world?

Nov 4, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell (right) gestures as he talks to head line judge Baron Baluster (left) against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. The Seminoles won 24-7. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Florida State is in the middle of a war against the ACC where multiple shots have been fired from Tallahassee, Florida, and Charlotte, North Carolina, over the past few months. That has the rumor mill hotter than ever with the Seminoles having an opportunity in front of them to secure their future with another conference.

The obvious destinations are the Big Ten or SEC with the ever-growing gap in television revenue. However, could there be another path for Florida State that puts the program in a different Power 4 conference? While speaking on a show with Big 12 reporter John Kurtz, Yahoo Sports's Ross Dellenger revealed that he thinks the conference has had preliminary discussions with Florida State and Clemson. The Tigers are also involved in a separate lawsuit against the ACC.

At the same time, Dellenger believes that the top option for FSU and Clemson is to ultimately land in the SEC or Big Ten. It's always worth keeping multiple alternatives on the table in the event something doesn't work out.

READ MORE: Should FSU Football Be Considered A 'Blue Blood' In College Football?

"Well, you look at Florida State and Clemson's options. The first option would probably be to get into the Big Ten or SEC, the second option would be in some way to reform the ACC with a smaller number of teams where you would get a financial advantage because you wouldn't split the TV distribution with 18, maybe you would split it with ten, so they could reform in a smaller group," Dellenger said. "Option three is to probably join another league, there's only one other power conference league and that's the Big 12. You look at those options and again, they probably prefer number one, but I don't know that that's going to happen because the SEC has schools in those states already in Florida and South Carolina. The Big Ten, I don't know how interested they are in coming south, I mean, those things might happen."

"I think there is at least early conversation between the Big 12 and those schools about the possibility," Dellenger continued. "I don't know that it's anything serious yet because they do have to get out of the ACC whether that's through a settlement or court ruling so we could be months if not years away from something. But that does seem to be one of the possibilities, is the Big 12."

There's about a $30 million margin in revenue per school each year between the SEC and Big Ten compared to the Big 12. With that being said, the conference is exploring a naming right deal with All-State and a dive into private equity, per Dellenger.

Those moves could put the Big 12 in a position to offer Florida State the money it is looking for on the open market. It comes with a catch though as the conference would probably need to introduce unequal revenue sharing to make it work, something that might be hard to sell to administrators.

"Not only would you have to maybe help them get out but you'd then have to pay them in distribution when they get to the league, an amount that is at least close to what the SEC and Big Ten are paying their schools. The Big 12 gets mid-30s, just call it $40 million a year per school in distribution and the SEC and Big Ten are at more like 70, which that number will go up," Dellenger said. "So if you do use financial equity or whatever other financial means to get Florida State or a Clemson, is the Big 12 administrators ok with unequal revenue distribution? Would they be ok with paying Florida State or Clemson $10 to $20 million more a year? And that's a question I don't know the answer to except to say that would probably be hard to convince them in the room to do that but if it means adding blue blood football powers that you need, maybe there's a shot."

While there are still murky waters for Florida State to navigate on the conference realignment front, one thing is clear; the university is serious about departing from the ACC no matter the cost. It's simply not fiscal for the Seminoles to risk continuing to fall behind. Especially when a program like Ohio State is spending about $13 million annually to retain and upgrade its roster.

Whether it's the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, or some other option, all roads are leading the Seminoles away from North Carolina.

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