Report: ACC Powers Could Jump to Big 12 Within Year

According to a 247Sports writer, the top ACC programs of Clemson and Florida State are closer to joining the Big 12 than ever before.

Jason Scheer of 247Sports reported Sunday night there’s an internal belief in the Big 12 that the two ACC powers are likely to join the conference within the next year or so. And it comes on the heels of Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger outlining how Clemson and Florida State could potentially be looking at joining the Big 12.

It remains to be seen whether the realignment smoke is coming from a legitimate fire, of course, but there will likely continue to be talks of the ACC and the Big 12 in the coming weeks and months.

Of course, it also remains to be seen whether a jump from the ACC to the Big 12 is an upgrade. An ironclad ACC Grant of Rights is complicated and costly, but both Clemson and Florida State have sued the conference regarding the Grant of Rights and a potential exit — at the very least, finding out how much it would cost to buy out of the conference and whether TV deal revenue would be kept by the conference.

The Big 12 would then need to admit the two ACC schools, should they find a way out of the ACC, and that would get costly.

“Not only would you have to help them get out, but you’d have to pay them in distribution when they get to the league an amount that is at least close to what the Big Ten and SEC are paying their schools,” Dellenger told Big 12 media personality John Kurtz. “So, the Big 12 gets mid-30s or just call it 40 million a year, per school in distribution, and the SEC and the Big Ten are at more like 70, which that number will go up.

“So, if you do use private equity or whatever other financial means to get a Florida State or a Clemson, is the Big 12 admin okay with unequal revenue distribution? Would they be oaky with paying Florida State or Clemson 10 to 20 million dollars more a year?”

It’s a longshot for a few reasons (the ACC Grant of Rights, the practical fit of Florida State and Clemson in the Big 12, a desire for FSU and Clemson to join the Big 12 and the unpredictability of college football), and the Big 12 would have to agree on further expansion — and work the financials.

Realignment is a fickle business and with ongoing court cases and the complexity of the Grant of Rights, any sort of exit within the year feels premature.

This story initially appeared on our partner site Pittsburgh Sports Now.