Big Ten expansion sees FSU calling for Board meeting on January 31 as Seminoles' ACC exit rumors intensify: Report

The college football season recently concluded amid the controversy around FSU being snubbed for the College Football Playoff spots. Now, the attention has turned back to the conference expansion and realignment games.

One of the Power Five conferences that is still not done expanding is the Big Ten. This has caught the attention of the Florida State Seminoles who have never hidden their desire to leave the ACC.

The major reason has been the grant of rights agreement that has tied down programs to a media rights deal that does not favor the current media-rich environment.

The Big Ten has already added USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington, and speculation by ESPN has it that the expansion is not done yet. This brings in the Seminoles question.

According to a report by MHver3, the FSU board is bound to meet on Jan. 31 to decide which conference they will want to affiliate with in the future.

"In ACC news I’m being told that there will be a significant meeting on Jan 31st at FSU that could decide their future conference affiliation," the report reads. "SEC has shown no interest in adding them or Clemson but B10 has-depending on what the networks would pay."

Will FSU leave ACC for Big Ten after CFP snub?

One of the biggest reasons that the Florida State Seminoles were snubbed from the CFP was due to the strength of their conference. Although they went 13-0, that wasn't deemed sufficient by the selection committee.

According to Blue Bloods Bias, one of the main reasons why the FSU board is speeding up their possible ACC exit is due to the snub.

Back in August, Florida State President Rick McCullough spoke at the Board of Trustees meeting and threatened to leave the conference due to the revenue share agreement.

“I believe that FSU will have to, at some point, consider very seriously leaving the ACC — unless there were a radical change to the revenue distribution,” McCullough said. “We, along with Clemson and others, help to carry the value of media rights in the ACC,” McCullough continued. “No offense to my colleagues. That’s just the numbers.”

He was backed up by Drew Weatherford, a trustee of the board.

“It’s not a matter of if we leave (the ACC), in my opinion,” said Drew Weatherford. “It’s a matter of how and when we leave. Not everyone may agree with that, but I feel really strongly about it.”

The college football landscape has changed massively and money speaks even more in terms of recruitment. The Athletic reported that FSU is missing out on up to $30 million a year in revenue when compared to their major rivals.

The CFP snub might have crystallized the idea of leaving the ACC for the Big Ten, but the idea was conceived a long time ago.