Greg McElroy explains what the latest wave of realignment means for Florida State, rest of ACC

There has been plenty of movement with conference realignment so far this offseason, but as of yet, nothing has happened with Florida State or the ACC.

ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy recently explained what the latest wave of realignment means for FSU, Clemson and the rest of the league.

“With these moves already being made, if you look at the ACC, there is a big, significant date on when the ACC schools have to notify the ACC of them potentially leaving the conference,” McElroy said on the Always College Football podcast. “That date is just seven days from now, on August 15^th.  Keep an eye on that date.”

As McElroy goes on to point out, it’s not as if Florida State or anyone else can simply announce, ‘Hey, we’re leaving.’ There is an exit fee for leaving the ACC, as well as the Grant of Rights, which must be sorted out.

The Seminoles must also have an offer from another conference in order to leave.

“You already heard a little bit about what Florida State did. Florida State, by their estimation, they need to pay a $120 million exit fee. And they have to come up with a strategy to get out of their Grant of Rights,” McElroy said. “Now, I don’t know about Florida State’s financial situation. But $120 million seems like an awful lot. So what did they decide to do? They went and hired JP Morgan Chase. They went and hired private equity, to maybe help them figure out a way to bridge the gap from their inevitable exit in their eyes.”

While some schools, such as Clemson, have stayed quiet about their future, FSU has taken a much different approach.

The Florida State Board of Trustees met last week and members were extremely vocal about wanting out of the ACC.

“These are not my words. You listen to Drew Weatherford last week, who’s on the board at Florida State. They said, ‘It’s not a matter of if we leave the ACC, it’s a matter of when and how.’ So that’s not my words. That’s their words,” McElroy said. “How do they get to that $120 million number? And can they get there earlier? And if they can, is it Big Ten or is it SEC? So a lot that still could be meant for the ACC schools, especially here in the next [seven] days.”

There continues to be a lot of moving parts with conference realignment. We should have a better idea of what’s next for Florida State and the ACC in about a week.