Ex-Tallahassee Democrat reporter implies FSU joining Big Ten could still be in play

Former Tallahassee Democrat reporter Skip Foster implied that FSU leaving the ACC to join the Big Ten is still on the table despite rumors that the Big 12 would be bringing on the Noles and Clemson sometime in the next year.

According to Foster, we won't hear anything from the B1G as long as FSU and the ACC are battling in court since it'd inspire new lawsuits.

"By the way, if there WAS a back-room, handshake deal between FSU and the Big 10, to confirm that publicly would be opening up the conference to a lawsuit," Foster wrote. "There is only one answer if you are a Big10 prez/AD/etc. -- 'nothing to see here.'"

According to longtime college football radio host Greg Swaim, the SEC has already denied FSU and Clemson while the Big Ten's AAU accreditation requirements are seemingly a roadblock to admission.

Swaim sees the Big 12 as the most likely option for the Noles and Tigers and predicts four other ACC schools will join them.

"As we've said for a year, FSU and Clemson will not get a B1G offer, due to neither being AAU accredited," Swaim prefaced before saying, "But from Vegas the talk is the SEC has now turned the pair down. With new sponsorship the B12 probably won't pay quite what the other two do, but with those two they'll pay double what the ACC does.

"And it won't end there. The talk is the B12 will take six from the ACC."

Upside of FSU questioned by Big Ten source

One B1G source told college football insider Brett McMurphy that the upside to having FSU in the conference is limited.

“What’s the upside of Florida State?” the source said. “We got what we needed by adding USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington — and Oregon and Washington were added at 50 cents on the dollar to help USC and UCLA. Who would Florida State help? And at what cost? And, most importantly, who’s going to pay for it?”

If this source is to be believed, "never say never" isn't the phrase to describe the FSU-to-Big Ten possibility.

There is apparently a cost for FSU's legal issues with the ACC.