Mark Stoops declines comment on if he wants Clemson to join SEC

A few schools have been quite vocal about their displeasure with the ACC. Florida State has been louder than everyone else but Clemson is up there as well. The lone ACC school to win a national championship in the College Football Playoff era, if the Tigers were to hit the conference realignment open market, you would assume they would be a popular free agent.

If/when the scenario presents itself, the SEC will certainly be linked with Clemson. This led Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops to receive a question about the Tigers joining the conference ahead of Friday’s Gator Bowl. Would he like to potentially face off against Clemson again in the future but both as SEC members?

“I really would have no comment on that,” Stoops said. “I don’t want to be reckless. Once I say one thing, that will be national news. I’ll stay away from that and focus on this game. A lot of respect for Clemson. But we’re really focused on this game. I’ll let people with higher pay grades than me make those decisions.”

In a report from Dan Wetzel earlier in the month, an SEC source told him there was more opposition to Clemson (joined by Florida State and Miami) joining the conference compared to those in favor. Part of the reason is due to the SEC already having members in the states of Florida and South Carolina.

North Carolina and Virginia are more likely candidates whenever the ACC falls apart according to multiple different reports.

Clemson has plenty of recent history with SEC opponents

Of course, Clemson plays an SEC opponent every single year with the in-state rivalry against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Dabo Swinney has been quite successful in the rivalry in recent times, winning eight out of the last nine matchups.

There is a bit of a rivalry with Georgia as well, playing each other 65 times throughout history. We will see another edition to kick off the 2024 season and there are four more matchups on future schedules.

Facing off against Kentucky will be the second consecutive bowl game against an SEC program, playing Tennessee in the Orange Bowl last season. And then during the national championship run, Dabo Swinney continually went up against Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

From a pure recent football perspective, Clemson would seemingly be an easy fit for the SEC. How other members of the conference — even with the no comment from Stoops — feel will likely determine if the partnership ever works out.