Florida State, ACC reach a crucial inflection point over realignment, possible move

Just when we thought conference realignment was over with and done, we are possibly on the verge of seeing more moves in the coming months over in the ACC. According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, Florida State is meeting with ACC officials this week, with the help of a mediator, to try and rectify their ongoing legal dispute. Florida State wants out of its grant of rights with the conference.

Clemson is also going to be doing something different at some point down the line, but the Tigers' legal disputes with the ACC are slightly different. While both schools' cases will be heard in North Carolina, Florida State's will obviously be heard in Florida and Clemson's will be heard in South Carolina, too. Right now, Florida State does not want to pay some $500 million to leave the league.

These are two of the biggest brands in the ACC, especially on the college football field. However, neither is going to be the two dominos that will set another rally in motion. The two ACC schools everyone wants are North Carolina and Virginia for territorial reasons. The SEC already has teams in Florida and South Carolina. Keep in mind that Florida State and Clemson are not AAU universities.

Should Florida State and/or Clemson leave, they may be going to the Big 12 if they do not watch out.

Florida State, ACC going to mediation this week to solve legal issues

There is not really a lot to unpack here other than the league has had horrible leadership in recent years. Under John Swofford's leadership, the league fought for stability in its negotiations with ESPN on a new contract. It was what everyone at the time, but after seeing what leagues like the Big Ten, SEC and even Big 12 were able to negotiate with their broadcasting partners, the ACC is so screwed.

While the tail-end of Swofford's ACC tenure took a turn, Jim Phillips has done seemingly everything in his power to drive it into the ditch. On the scale of Greg Sankey to Larry Scott, Phillips is closer to George Kliavkoff than he is to Tony Petitti. He has been surpassed by Brett Yormark and has made us all forget about Kevin Warren. But then again, whenever we pat the doc, we will always remember him.

Ultimately, the revenue distributions the other Power Four leagues will be getting will soon dwarf what the ACC is bringing in. While the Big Ten and SEC have long been behemoths, the never-say-die conference that is the Big 12 is not only surviving but is thriving, despite losing its two biggest brands in Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC. The ACC cannot afford to lose their blue bloods.

Even with great mediation, I am fairly sure that Florida State and Clemson will want out of the ACC.