Brett Yormark's Big 12 expansion plans to utilize private equity for adding FSU & Clemson amid ACC fallout theories

Brett Yormark's Big 12 expansion has been one of the talking points surrounding conference realignment this college football offseason as we begin to feel a potential ACC collapse. Two of the biggest schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference are the Florida State Seminoles and the Clemson Tigers, and they're both suing the ACC to break the Grant of Rights Agreement to get the $572 million fee down to leave the conference.

College football insider Greg Swaim posted that he believes the Big 12 expansion will involve private equity to help the conference.

One thing that Swaim doesn't clarify is if the private equity would be helping Clemson and Florida State with their exit fees or providing additional revenue to make the Big 12 expansion look more appealing to the schools. This is all speculative at this point, and it will be intriguing to see if the ACC collapse will even happen.

Who else could the Big 12 expansion be targeting outside of the Clemson Tigers and Florida State Seminoles?

Just because there happens to be a lot of public discourse surrounding the Florida State Seminoles and Clemson Tigers for Big 12 expansion does not mean they are the only programs that make sense for the league. While Clemson and FSU make a lot of sense and could still wind up in the Big 12, there are also teams outside of them that fit the mold as well.

One school that is going to be on all of the other power conference's radars as well is the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. This one is going to be tough as they are likely going to value being an independent football program more than joining a conference as they get $50 million per year in media rights for their college football team with NBC.

For the Big 12 to sweeten the pot, it would need to get the private equity for the Fighting Irish or even give them a larger share than the rest of the programs, which could ultimately lead to problems down the line.

Another program would be the Duke Blue Devils. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark has been vocal about growing multiple sports in expansion, and Duke does that. The Blue Devils are a solid football program and also one of the nation's premier men's college basketball programs.