Florida State Board of Trustees Meeting Thursday, Friday: Big 12 Expansion Talk Looming?

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Florida State’s Board of Trustees are meeting today and Friday, and ChuckOliver.net’s Ingram Smith reported some big news via Twitter:

FSU’s Pres will likely deny previous talks w/ BIg 12. I expect FSU’s BOT to give him authority to formally begin nego’ns w/ BIg 12

— Ingram Smith (@IngramSmith) June 7, 2012

The FSU-to-Big 12 rumors have circulated for about a month now, with speculation and innuendo as the fuel. These meetings should provide the first concrete movement one way or another, whether it’s FSU setting the wheels in motion to leave the ACC, or remain there.

Negotiation with the Big 12, should FSU choose that route, would not necessarily translate to a partnership. Two years ago nearly to the week, DeLoss Dodds and Texas went to the table with the Pacific 10 and failed to agree to terms. Now, the most contentious point of a proposed Texas-to-Pac move was the then-still conceptual Longhorn Network. FSU does not bring any such baggage in its hypothetical negotiations, though third party rights will be the biggest talking point.

Current Big 12 member Oklahoma had been rumored to seek its own TV channel after news of the Longhorn Network surfaced, but went the more realistic route of content provider as opposed to content distributor. Chip Brown had floated the suggestion of an FSU channel when these rumors first surfaced last month, a bewildering suggestion given the struggles ESPN has had finding carriers for LHN.

Sooner TV will instantly reach 10 times the amount of homes as LHN, giving its coverage to FOX Sports. The advent of this distribution network is the most significant sales pitch new Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby can give FSU — assuming the Big 12 is on board with expansion. Just last week, reports of the conference’s new deal remaining the same for its existing 10 members even after expansion would diminish the need for growth.

Topics: Conference Realignment, Florida State Seminoles, Longhorn Network, Oklahoma Sooners, Texas Longhorns

DosSantosRulez146

If Clemson and FSU bolt, do UConn and Rutgers make the jump as replacements and in the process kill the Big East once and for all?

http://SaturdayBlitz.com Kyle Kensing

It’s interesting, because both were mentioned (purely speculatively of course) in the same breath as the Big Ten at point. It doesn’t get any bigger than the New York TV market, but that said neither has huge football fan bases. Further with ‘Cuse, while Upstate you get a sizable alumni base in NYC. The ACC would also be at a more round 12 if it loses two.

If anything, I suspect it would be a trickle down effect that doesn’t kill the Big East, but rather a conference that’s smaller a la the WAC dying from this most recent round of moves.

ChipSpangler

If FSU and Clemson bolt, and the ACC stays at the remaining 12 members, do UConn and Rutgers really help the ACC enough to make them worthwhile additions?

They don’t come remotely close to replacing the football power that would be lost. The ACC is already a strong basketball conference. I don’t see enough value of those two by themselves to make it worthwhile.