ESPN Analyst Says That Big Ten Could Be Interested In Expanding to State of Florida

Conference realignment talk continues across the college football landscape.

There has been constant movement across college football on the conference realignment front over the past couple of years. USC and UCLA are headed to the Big Ten, Texas and Oklahoma are set to move to the SEC, and the Big 12 is adding four new members on July 1 (UCF, Houston, Cincinnati, BYU).

READ MORE: Florida State Adding Defensive Coach To Staff With NFL, P5 Experience

So who could be next? Maybe a couple of programs in the state of Florida. ESPN analyst and 2010 BCS National Champion Greg McElroy recently offered his opinion on the ever-changing state of affairs on the Always College Football Podcast. He believes that the Big Ten could expand and add programs from the Sunshine State.

"I don't get the sense that the SEC is really mobilizing to expand, the Big Ten, however, would be very open to expanding, but the place that they would be most open to would be in the state of Florida," McElroy claimed.

"That would be advantageous to NBC, that would be advantageous to Fox, and that would also be advantageous to CBS. Those are the three media rights holders for the Big Ten. So that's something to keep an eye on," McElroy continued. "The Big Ten is far more likely to expand right now, the SEC not so much. They will kind of see exactly how this all plays out and what these ACC schools ultimately decide to do."

.@GregMcElroy thinks the B1G will be more aggressive than the SEC when trying to expand 👀#AlwaysCFB | #BigTen pic.twitter.com/RuQQd4DQSm

— Always College Football (@AlwaysCFB) May 17, 2023

Two names that instantly come to mind are Florida State and Miami which have clearly been exploring ways to get out of the ACC's Grant of Rights. Earlier this month, the pair of rivals were among seven teams identified by Action Network's Brett McMurphy as programs that are trying to circumvent the GoR. The agreement is in place until 2036 and that projects to have the conference falling behind on the revenue front.

With the SEC and Big Ten expanding and going to market at least one more time before the ACC's media deal is up, there could be a sizable gap in payouts. Athletic Director Michael Alford has continued to support the conference publicly but Florida State is putting in the work privately.

This situation isn't even close to being resolved despite the fact that it may take a couple of years to finalize the move. If the ACC can't provide the Seminoles with a clear future, don't be surprised to see the university look at all of its options.

READ MORE: Three Exciting Home Matchups For FSU Football In 2023

Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State football throughout the offseason.

Follow NoleGameday on Twitter and Facebook