How Clemson, FSU could ignite realignment battle between Big Ten, SEC

Clemson filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the ACC, seeking to distance itself from the ACC’s Grant of Rights, which gives the league the rights to control the broadcast rights for all of the member institutions. It might also have inadvertently triggered a new conference realignment battle.

It’s the first tangible step in Clemson potentially being able to seek a new conference, a move that was first made by Florida State some months ago.

If successful in its bid, Clemson could kick off a new round of conference realignment in the near future. That comes right on the heels of what looked like some semblance of stability following a new College Football Playoff agreement that granted heavy incentives to both the Big Ten and the SEC.

“So we currently have a situation where the SEC and the Big Ten are working together, but if certain events play out, they could be pitted right against each other again,” On3’s Pete Nakos said on the Andy Staples On3 show.

How?

Well, the teams involved in a new potential conference realignment would be highly coveted by the two most powerful leagues in the sport, in theory.

“Here’s the thing, a lot of people keep asking this and it’s a legitimate question. Let’s say they get out,” Staples said, referring to Clemson and Florida State. “Is somebody going to take them? And I would argue that if I’m the Big Ten, if I’m FOX, which is really in charge of the Big Ten in terms of television and everything, I look at the SEC schedules, what they came out with the 16-team version, once they added Oklahoma and Texas, and I look at that and I go, ‘You know what, their product is still a lot better than ours. We’ve got to find a way to improve our product.’

“If you could sprinkle Florida State and Clemson across all the Big Ten schedules, suddenly it’s a lot better product.”

Of course, things are rarely that simple. The SEC, for one, isn’t likely to idly stand by while watching the Big Ten make a major move. The two conferences have been battling head and toe for supremacy for the last several years.

“Now if you’re the SEC, you go, ‘Wait a second, that’s our geographic territory, that’s our footprint. Do we want to let them into our footprint, or do we choke them out and improve our product?'” Staples said.

There’s a long way to go before any of those type of discussions and decisions become reality, of course. The ACC’s Grant of Rights, at least for now, offers the ACC a temporary shield from member programs jumping ship.

If a court were to overrule that, however, things could get very, very interesting on the realignment front.

“And now you have a realignment battle on your hands, right?” Nakos said to Staples. “You just made the case, the Big Ten and the SEC both have great reasons to add. And I know, right, South Carolina loves to be the only SEC school in the state, but at the same time, if you’re Greg Sankey you’ve got to bring your presidency and say, ‘Hey, we can only add value to our product with adding a Clemson or Florida State.'”