FSU football and Conference Realignment: How Florida State Is A Party to a Bigger Power Struggle
There’s a battle going on between ESPN and Fox. How did FSU get to a place where they can potentially change college sports forever?
“There’s a war going on between shadows and ghosts like me”. That line from the seventh installment of the Fast and Furious franchise perfectly encapsulates the position Florida State finds itself in as it sues the ACC to break the Grant of Rights contract. In that seventh movie, Dominic Toretto and his family unwittingly found themselves in a power struggle between unknown and unseen entities trying to gain access to a device that could be deadly in the wrong hands. In the case of the current college football landscape, there is a battle going on between two corporations.
Three years ago, ESPN fired the first shot. In an absolutely stunning move, Texas and Oklahoma linked arms to leave the Big 12 and join the SEC. A year later, Fox returned fire with USC and UCLA electing to leave the PAC-12 for the Big Ten. Oregon and Washington elected to follow their Los Angeles counterparts the following year and joined the Big Ten as well.
The arms race of college sports media rights deals created the environment in which six of the biggest college football brands decided to leave their long time homes for new and unfamiliar destinations. The media rights deals of the Pac 12 and the Big 12 were set to expire, and these big brands were going to be making significantly less than their counterparts in the Big Ten and the SEC. In essence, these big brands were propping up conferences, whereas the rest of the members did not pull their weight in multiple aspects.
The powers that be at Fox and ESPN had their own goals. ESPN wants to maintain its status as the preeminent entity in sports media, while Fox wants that space for itself. What resulted from the chaos was a mutually beneficial relationship. The big brands are being paid what they are worth, while the corporate entities are one step close to their goals.
Now, here is where Florida State enters the chat. It is no secret that Florida State is not happy in the ACC. The ACC has made numerous poor decisions that have left the athletic departments at their member schools feeling the pinch financially. According to FSU Director of Athletics Mike Alford, Florida State will face an annual deficit of $30 million in media rights revenue compared to their rivals.
FSU being $30 million behind their competition is devastating to the goals and ambitions of their football program and the athletic department as a whole. That deficit is a big reason why Florida State recently filed a lawsuit to terminate the ACC’s Grant of Rights agreement. I am confident that FSU will be out of the ACC sooner rather than later.
How that happens isn’t as important as the role FSU will play as a free agent in the world of conference realignment. Remember when I said that Fox wants to displace ESPN as the preeminent entity in sports media? As crazy as it sounds, Florida State has the potential to play a massive role in that happening.
Fox has increasingly positioned the B1G as a national conference. All of the Midwest markets belong to them as well as the major East and West Coast markets. The corporate executives will never say this publicly, but they desire to break into the markets south of the Mason-Dixon line. Schools like UVA and UNC are coveted by both the SEC and the B1G for the market value and other reasons such as academic prestige and solid athletics. That said, Florida State is a major piece of the realignment puzzle. If the B1G can get into the Florida market it could set off a chain reaction of movement.
ESPN has heavily invested in the SEC and I am confident they don’t love the idea of Fox encroaching into their territory. While I believe UVA and UNC are better cultural fits in the B1G, the SEC has plenty of good reasons to bring them both into the fold. Not the least of which is to keep Fox out of Virginia and North Carolina markets.
Would the SEC take FSU so that ESPN can play defense? I believe that it is a possibility. The last thing ESPN wants is for Fox to gain a foothold into Florida. While I believe that Florida State is more valuable to the B1G, the idea that they don’t bring any value to the SEC is ludicrous in my mind. Florida State coming into the SEC is not just about ESPN protecting its turf. ESPN would bring one of its most valuable brands into its premier conference.
Can you imagine the idea of the Florida- Florida State rivalry becoming a conference game? What about FSU-UGA, or FSU-Alabama? These games would do massive ratings with Florida State under the SEC banner. I realize right now the idea of FSU and ESPN repairing their relationship is laughable. However, if FSU is successful in breaking free from the ACC, I imagine ESPN’s attitude will change pretty quickly.
Ten years ago, the idea of FSU being anywhere other than the ACC seemed crazy and far-fetched. The networks being the puppet masters of college football changed all of that. The sport is increasingly consolidating into a Power 2 league consisting of the B1G and the SEC at the behest of the major networks. It seems even crazier now that Florida State could be the most important institution at this stage of conference realignment.
Florida State fans need not worry about whether they will have a home should they successfully exit the ACC. The desire of both ESPN and Fox to be the premier sports media network will ensure that FSU’s future as a powerhouse college football program will endure into the next decade.