Report: Big Ten, SEC 'unlikely' to add Florida State if it leaves ACC: 'They've been a disruptive partner'

The Big Ten and SEC are unlikely to add Florida State should the team leave the ACC and the conference survives, according to Action Network’s Brett McMurphy.

“Big Ten, SEC unlikely to add Florida State if it leaves ACC & ACC survives, sources told Action Network,” McMurphy wrote on Twitter. “Big Ten & SEC don’t want FSU because adding FSU doesn’t make financial sense, no desire to expand & ‘they’ve been a disruptive partner,’ sources said.”

It’s the latest drama in Florida State vs. the ACC and whether or not the school will finally leave.

“Three SEC presidents recently told Action Network they had ‘no interest’ in adding Florida State,” McMurphy wrote. “It takes 12 of the 16 SEC presidents to favor adding another school. The Big Ten also is not interested in the Seminoles, sources said.”

However, according to McMurphy, there is a path for Florida State to get to the Big Ten if the ACC totally goes away at that point.

“There is no appetite among the presidents unless there is some catastrophic development with the ACC and it forces [the Big Ten] into a decision,” the source said.

“If the ACC blows up, who picks first [between the Big Ten and SEC],” the source told Action Network. “Who picks second? If there is a need and desire to expand, you take inventory so your competitors don’t get it. But the presidents and chancellors are looking for stability. Despite what the social media geniuses are suggesting, no one — the leagues, the networks — is driving expansion.”

If the SEC and Big Ten aren’t options, Florida State, as well as Clemson, could wind up options for the Big 12. However, McMurphy reported the two schools are currently enamored with the conference.

“Is it possible Florida State and/or Clemson actually could file multiple lawsuits and spend millions — potentially hundreds of millions of dollars — on legal and exit fees to leave the ACC and not have a new home,” McMurphy wrote. “In college football’s unpredictable future, nothing is certain except for the uncertainty.”

Not only that, it’s been nearly a year of Florida State threatening to leave the ACC.

“It’s not a matter of if we leave [the ACC], in my opinion. It’s a matter of who and when we leave,” Board of Trustees member and former FSU quarterback Drew Weatherford said last August.

Yormark and the Big 12 are circling. “I will not stop until we are the No. 1 conference in America,” the commissioner said earlier this week. With ongoing discussions with Allstate, the Big 12 is at the forefront of selling naming rights. Plus, the conference continues to evaluate private equity options. Yormark even spoke about possibly selling football and basketball TV packages separately in the future.

Meanwhile, the ACC and Commissioner Jim Phillips meet in Charlotte later this month for media days. The disparity in TV revenue between the SEC and Big Ten is only growing. The six-year, $7.8 billion College Football Playoff contract signed this spring gives 29% annually to the Big Ten and SEC, more than $21 million per school.

The ACC will receive 17%, roughly $13 million per institution.

“As we enter this new chapter, I can assure you Big 12 schools will compete at the highest levels and they will continue to invest,” Yormark said. “From a conference perspective, we are exploring all options. Two years later, I guess you could stay, we’re still open for business. Naming rights is one. Private equity is another.”

On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report