The Story That Keeps on Giving

The Florida State and Clemson to the Big 12 smoke hasn’t cleared yet, and reports from Brett McMurphy and Jason Scheer (see bullet points below) stoked those flames again this week. How likely is the Big 12 to actually land FSU and Clemson? I’ll give you my take in The Bottom Line. 

The anonymous player poll continues today with their pick for the toughest place to play in the Big 12, and the quotes are gold – especially if you like players taking a shot or two at Texas.

Plus, we have coaches on the hot seat, coaches potentially retiring, and coaches…speed dating?

What You Need to Know

• Wildcat Authority Senior Editor and Publisher Jason Scheer says sources tell him there is an internal belief in the Big 12 that Florida State and Clemson are likely to join the conference within the next year or so. 

• Just over 24 hours later, Action Network’s Brett McMurphy (one of the best news breakers in college sports) reported that the SEC and Big Ten are unlikely to take FSU and Clemson if they leave the ACC and the ACC survives.

• Days after Utah announced defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley as head coach in waiting, current head coach Kyle Whittingham dropped a hint that he may not be around in 2027 when Utah plays Miami in Las Vegas. Does he only have a year or two left in him?

• Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham is in the running for best quote at Big 12 Media Days. He said Big 12 atmospheres would force them to use a silent count for every road game, and they only had to do that for one-and-a-half Pac 12 road games last year.

• BYU athletics director Tom Holmoe gave head coach Kalani Sitake a vote of confidence after a 2-7 conference season in the Cougars Big 12 debut. It came just days before Sitake was one of two Big 12 coaches, along with Baylor’s Dave Aranda, on CBS Sports’ hot seat rankings. 

• New Arizona head coach Brent Brennan detailed how he convinced star quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan to stay in Tucson after Jedd Fisch left for Washington. Brennan compared it to speed dating.

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Big 12 Player Survey: Toughest Place to Play

For installment number two in the Big 12 anonymous player survey, I asked players around the league to give me the toughest place to play in the league. They weren’t allowed to pick their home stadium. 

This category absolutely delivered with some money quotes from the players below.

And the winner is…

Boone Pickens Stadium! Home of the Oklahoma State Cowboys

Boone Pickens Stadium (Oklahoma State) – 4
Bill Snyder Family Stadium (K-State) – 3
Milan Puskar Stadium (West Virginia) – 2
Jack Trice Stadium (Iowa State) – 2
Amon G. Carter Stadium (TCU) – 2
Rice-Eccles Stadium (Utah) – 1
Jones AT&T Stadium (Texas Tech) – 1
LaVell Edwards Stadium (BYU) – 1

What the players said:

“I would say OK State. The paddles on that board…that’s different. That’s an atmosphere that you don’t get anywhere else.”

“Stillwater. Just having the fans right on top of you – there’s something about it. It’s really loud. There’s just a cool feeling in the air at that place.”

“Playing at West V is hard. It’s because of the way that the stadium is made and their fans. You can feel the turf shaking on third down. It’s just as loud as Texas, but they’ve got 110 (thousand), and West V maybe has 60? They find a way to be rowdy, and it’s really cool to see.” 

“We have our own weird shit. I’ve heard people throw batteries.”

“Iowa State. Without question. It’s just different. They have a great fan base and a great team. Iowa State, for sure.” 

“Probably Kansas State, man. It’s tough to go down there and get a win.”

“I didn’t necessarily feel like there was any stadium that was tough to play in. I thought Texas would be like it, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t loud. I played at Autzen Stadium and that was a really difficult place to play. I didn’t have any games last year that felt like that.”

“Texas Tech. Their fans throw those things on us before the game. So that’s one thing.” 

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The Bottom Line

As much as Florida State and Clemson fans probably want any association with the Big 12 to die, they continue to be linked in the news cycle. 

A day after mentioning Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark potentially chasing the two ACC powers in an article, Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger told me he thinks there have been preliminary talks between the two leagues, although it’s not anything serious. 

Dellenger later clarified that this was purely speculation and not an actual report.

About the time things died down, Arizona reporter Jason Scheer from WildcatAuthority.com tweeted this bombshell. 

I can’t specifically confirm or deny his assertion, but Scheer did rack up realignment credibility last year during the Big 12/Pac 12 saga. Scheer was consistently bullish on Arizona and Colorado to the Big 12 well before it happened, and he took plenty of heat from Pac 12 country before ultimately being vindicated. 

Then, moments before this newsletter was set to hit your inbox, we got this report from Brett McMurphy. 

McMurphy’s story is worth a read. He talked to more than a dozen Big Ten and SEC sources who basically told him the current sentiment is they don’t have real interest in FSU and Clemson.

As for the Big 12, this is what McMurphy said.

The fact that reporters as connected as Dellenger and McMurphy are speculating openly about the two sides talking leads me to believe there’s at least a little something here. And that in and of itself is a testament to how much of a baller, shot-caller, and boss Yormark is. 

But how likely is this to actually get across the finish line? I still think it’s less than 50/50, but I must admit those odds increased with the McMurphy report.

Before we even address the likelihood that Clemson and Florida State would go through the legal trouble of fighting four different cases in three different states just to make what most would deem a lateral move, there is a legitimate question of whether or not the Big 12 would even be on board. 

Dellenger mentioned on my YouTube channel that the Big 12 would likely have to use private equity money on two different fronts to secure the Seminoles and Tigers. 

“Not only would you maybe have to help them get out, 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 said. 

That means unequal revenue distribution. Would Big 12 schools really be cool with letting Clemson and FSU make $10-20 million more annually than the rest of the league? Especially knowing they’re still a potential flight risk to the SEC and Big Ten? It sure sounds a lot like dealing with Texas all over again.

I heard pretty consistently in Vegas that there are multiple hurdles to clear before Big 12 leadership would get the go-ahead on private equity for any purpose. There’s the typical, well-earned pushback due to private equity’s reputation, but there’s also a major issue with getting Big 12 teams to extend their grant of rights, a likely requirement from potential private equity partners. They want assurances that the schools in the league will stick around before they sink $1 billion into it. 

Florida State and Clemson are in this predicament because of a comically long grant of rights extension signed by ACC schools with their TV deal in 2016. It’s now a cautionary tale for everyone. 

Dellenger says the Big 12 is a clear third option for the Seminoles and Tigers after going to the Big Ten/SEC or staying in some version of the ACC. However, it appears the door is closed for now (not permanently) on the Big Ten/SEC dream, and things seem broken beyond repair with the ACC.

Still, even if FSU and Clemson were forced to consider door number three seriously, there are significant hurdles from the Big 12’s perspective. 

It’s fun to think about. I would be totally on board if it comes to fruition. It’s a great sign for the league to even be in the conversation. I would still bet against it. But this is becoming a situation to legitimately monitor. Brett Yormark has the college football world taking the Big 12 much more seriously than it did just two years ago.