Sports Extra - Blogs - A Florida State move to the Big 12 would be good for OU OSU but not necessarily the Seminoles

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A Florida State move to the Big 12 would be good for OU, OSU, but not necessarily the Seminoles
Published: 5/15/2012 6:50 PM
Last Modified: 5/15/2012 6:50 PM

At least conference realignment gives us something to do during the long hot summers between spring football and real football.

The latest rumble to impact teams in our neck of the woods is word that Florida State might be willing to talk to the Big 12. Check that, the Seminoles are completely loyal to the ACC. No, wait, FSU is considering all its options.

In case you haven't been following along -- and frankly you'd need a full-time staff to keep track -- here is a nice update courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel (See the story here).

It seems there is a disagreement between the school's board and its president about where FSU's athletic programs should compete.

Our own John Hoover made the observation that FSU's flirtation with the Big 12 is not completely different than Texas A&M's with the SEC. (See Hoover's blog here).

But there is a key difference. Members of Texas A&M's athletic department may have been skeptical of a SEC move, but folks at the presidential level and the fan base were 100 percent on board.

FSU president Eric Barron made a pretty compelling argument for staying in the ACC in an email Monday. Is that enough to keep the Seminoles from looking West or will Barron be looking for a new job soon?

As with everything involving realignment, FSU's issues revolve around money, power, ego and football.

Some at Florida State feel the ACC favors the North Carolina schools and basketball, while the Big 12 television contract is slightly more lucrative and the league would offer a better showcase for the Seminoles' football program.

Would a move to the Big 12 be good for FSU? Probably not -- for many of the reasons stated in Barron's memo. But it would be great for Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and the rest of the Big 12.

Don't tell Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds I said so, but the Big 12 desperately needs at least 12 teams.

Beyond numerical accuracy, 12 teams allow the league the needed exposure that comes from a football championship game.

Expansion would also allow the league to go back to scheduling eight conference games, giving teams the opportunity for one additional marque non-conference game and/or a minimum of seven home games most years.

But the league doesn't need just any 12. That's why Florida State would be so perfect. It would give the conference a high-profile national program in a talent-rich state -- a chance to add a television market and poke the big, bad SEC in the side.

Instead, the Big 12 will likely be left considering Louisville, BYU and a few others. It may have to go the Louisville route just to help bridge the geographic gap between West Virginia and the rest of the conference.

But, then again, if FSU's flirtation with the Big 12 becomes more than that we could remember this as the true summer of conference realignment.

Reader Comments

5 Total

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DomoArrigato (9 months ago)

Lets create a BigXII league based on how enjoyable the road trips might be...

Vermont for fall foliage roadtrips,
Las Vegas for the entertainment,
Miami for a cold weather getaway,
San Antonio for great Tex-Mex on the Riverwalk,
The Sorbonne and Oxford Universities so that we can enjoy London and Paris too.
Northwestern for a Chicago weekend,
Georgetown for a DC trip,
New Orleans for a Bourbon Street roadtrip,
Memphis for a Bar-B-Cue and Blues road trip,
Hawaii for a bit of sun and fun late in the fall.

To heck with Bedlam football, the Red River Rivalry, and all of the other existing BigXII members...lets make a league that is great for another reason...vacation-like road trips.

Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters (9 months ago)

I love that idea. You should hear the people in our office wax poetic about all the years Tulsa played in the Western Athletic Conference. Why? Football media days, basketball conference tournaments, etc., were all held in Las Vegas.

Opus (9 months ago)

Mike, If I could make a bet I'd say FSU is using this rumor as a bargaining chip in ACC negotiations. There is no way in the wide world of sports they are even remotely serious about coming over to the Big 12. However, as you pointed out, it makes for fun speculation.
Domo, here's one more vote for your "road trip" league!

JS (9 months ago)

Add Colorado for mountains and skiing, and you have a road trip conference. Oh, wait, Colorado was in the Big 12? Dang.

IrvinTulsa (9 months ago)

Arkansas fans have suffered since their program moved to the SEC. Most fans will not travel half way across the country for a football game more than once a season if even that often. FSU would be a great addition to the league but their fans would suffer.

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Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters has nearly 20 years of daily newspaper experience. A 1993 graduate of Texas A&M, he worked at papers in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and Galveston, Texas, before joining the Houston Chronicle as High School Sports Editor in 2008. While in Houston, he coordinated coverage of the 2008 Texas Class 5A state football championships and the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four.

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