Examining whether Florida State could end up in the Big Ten or SEC in the future
On3’s Andy Staples and Warchant’s Jeff Cameron took some time on Monday’s version of The Andy Staples Show to discuss Florida State’s future as it pertains to their conference.
First, Cameron highlighted why the Big Ten would be interested in the Seminoles, and how it could turn them into a nationwide conference in an instant.
“This is an interesting discussion,” Cameron started. “The Big Ten would want to plant a flag in the SEC’s backyard. They would want to grab what they could. It’d make sense. If it’s an all-out war, and it’s FOX versus ESPN let’s say, would you not, at that point, you’d have a country-wide conference obviously, as opposed to a regional conference in the SEC. So you would have Florida State, North Carolina, Clemson, potentially Miami, I don’t know if they’d go that route or not, but for the Big Ten, now we’re going coast-to-coast, and you’ve got all of the Midwest to boot.
“I would think the counter to that is, with the ACC on the verge of dissolving, that ESPN doesn’t re-up and we have to know that by 2026, right? 2025? So I would think at that point, again, SEC, Big Ten, ESPN, FOX. No matter other’s feelings. Commissioner’s feeling, Athletic Director’s feelings, at some point, you would want to counter that move by FOX and the Big Ten if you’re ESPN, especially since the ACC will no longer be an asset. Wouldn’t you say, You know what guys, this isn’t going to — you can be made if you’re Florida or anybody else, we’re taking Florida State so that the Big Ten doesn’t get them.”
Continuing, Staples harkened back to the synergy we’ve seen between the Big Ten and SEC decision-makers over recent weeks, and how it could all have an effect on where the Seminoles end up.
“That’s the one thing that I think encroachment on the territory piece. That’s where Clemson would probably find a home, in that situation, and Florida State would be the same thing,” Staples added. “I think the part that makes this more interesting is ESPN and FOX are about to go into business together, with a streaming service. That’s where you wonder, ‘Oh by the way, Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti, the two commissioners, just formed an advisory group,’ so all of this is all happening at once.
“I feel like all of this is related. I don’t think, you can make a deal, because they want to make a deal for the College Football Playoff, like a new TV deal, that extends beyond the 2025 season. I’m not sure they can yet, because I’m not sure they know what these conferences are going to look like.”
Alas, there’s a lot of different ways this could work out for Florida State, but it’s evident we’re far from closing the book on where the Seminoles are headed in the future, and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.