FSU sources: Florida State/Clemson to Big12 "inevitable"

Getting out of control

Also, of note to SEC fans, it appears that the SEC is going to sit back for a little while at 14. They are in no "rush" to jump into the Virginia and North Carolina market.

So while long term FSU-Clemson appears to be the death of ACC football, and that may very well happen down the road, I don't believe there is going to be a mass-exodus from the ACC. IMO, FSU and Clemson will go to the Big12, and things will probably be calm for a year or two after that. There will certainly be discussions being had between conferences and ACC teams, but I don't expect any other major moves for a little bit.

I believe the Big12 and SEC have shared their vision of the future with one another and are in a sense working "hand in hand" on this (Big12 knows who the SEC wants and SEC knows who the Big12 wanst, and both conferences are going to work together in making that happen over the next 1-5 years without completely destroying the ACC in one full swoop.


Order I believe things will happen:

1. FSU/Clemson to Big12 in summer 2012 (effective 2013 season)

(over the next 2 years, Big12 will work to add GaTech+NotreDame)...remember, Notre Dame's NBC contract doesn't expire until 2015 anyway.

2. GaTech/Notre Dame to Big12 sometime in 2014/2015 (effective 2016 season...although you may see Notre Dame's non-football sports join the Big12 well before that)
-That puts the Big12 at 14....SEC at the current 14 still...Big10 still at 12


3. At this point, I think the Big12/SEC will be content to sit back and wait. By this time, the Big12/SEC will have probably already established some sort of regular season football "challenge" with its non-conference games, and also the new Champions Bowl will be on the way. The ACC will have continued to exist after the three departures, and while hobbled, the ACC will certainly still be alive. The Big12/SEC will then wait on the Big10 to act. It will be up to the Big10 if they want to deliver the killer blow to the ACC. If they do, then it's game on with UNC/Duke/Maryland/UVA to the Big10 with the SEC probably grabbing VaTech/NCState and the Big12 adding Miami/Louisville.

From all the articles I read, it certainly appears GaTech is in the mix for when the Big12 moves to 14.

FSU/Clemson first...then a little later probably either GaTech+NotreDame or maybe even GaTech+PittORLouisvilleORMiami

Supposedly the Big12-GaTech talks are way behind where the Big12-FSU/clemson talks are.

I also read an article (can't remember where...think it was on an FSU site) where the FSU faculty made it clear to the FSU Prez in a meeting that they would adamantly oppose a move to the SEC due to the SEC's "inferior" academics.

Funny.

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Isn't it crazy how recently it seemed like the big 12 was hanging on by a thread and now if this goes thru all of a sudden it looks like a strong conference.

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Amazing comeback for the the Big 12.

i was hoping fla st would be sec.

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Amazing comeback for the the Big 12.

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This is going to be a logistical nightmare, especially for Title IX and non Revenue sports. Fans of Fla State and Clemson are going to hate traveling 15+ hours to watch a Football game.

Screw That

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nyone else seeing the 4 big players (Big 10, Pac 12, SEC, Big 12) slowly positioning themselves to dominate this forthcoming 4 slot playoff?

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Yeah, eventually the winner of each conference will be the 4 entrants into the playoff. It may not happen in the first incarnation of the playoff, but thats where we will end up eventually.

I'm also still not buying this FSU to the Texas Ten story, yet. They would have to be looking at significantly more money to make up for the massive increase in travel costs + the ACC buyout.

Exactly. The 4 superconferences can almost be assured of having the best chances of fielding the two teams to play for the NC. Moreover, they will dominate TV exposure and bring in shiploads of $ with their conference matchups.

A potential ACC-Big East conference alliance and matchup (they are talking with each other)...not so much. The music has stopped playing and the 4 big guys have taken the 4 chairs and the ACC is still standing looking around...even looking at the fat ugly chick in the corner that is the Big East.

As for Nebraska, it doesn't matter if the Big 12 eeks out a bit more money than the Big 10. They don't have to put up with Texas' BS anymore and that was a primary reason they left.