ESPN's Pete Thamel addressed the SEC's interest in adding Florida State but noted that multiple SEC teams would be against adding the Seminoles into the conference.
"In the short term, where they go may depend if the SEC wants to play defense," Thamel said. "There's not an immediate, voracious appetite for Florida State in the SEC. It's a redundant market. Florida would obviously not be pleased if Florida State came in... I don't think Auburn or Georgia would be crying for it either. But what the SEC doesn't want is the Big Ten flag planted directly in their backyard."
Florida State's Board of Trustees granted the university permission to file a lawsuit against the ACC to challenge the current grant of rights. Currently, Florida State is to remain in the conference until 2036.
Multiple conferences have been named as potential landing spots, led by the Big Ten and SEC. Reports surfaced that
the SEC has little interest in adding Florida State,
but Thamel noted that the conference could add the Seminoles to block the Big Ten's expansion into the state of Florida.
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The SEC's goal is to play a level of football that appeals to a national audience. It also already has schools in Florida (the University of
Florida) and
South Carolina (the University of South Carolina).
“My sense is there is more opposition than interest,” one SEC source said.
Any move on FSU and/or the others would be defensive, mainly to block the Big Ten from gaining a foothold in the region.
The Big Ten might be different. It is aggressively snapping up television draws and doesn’t care whether it makes any geographic, cultural or traditional sense. It begins next season as an 18-team entity with a four-school West Coast wing: USC,
UCLA,
Oregon and Washington.
The importance of the Big Ten Network getting basic cable subscriptions still matters, even as cord cutting has limited those numbers.
Adding exciting football matchups would no doubt appeal to Fox, its main television partner, let alone CBS and NBC. FSU, Clemson and Miami all bring that before UNC and UVA. Or maybe North Carolina jumps in with the first three schools.
