Report: FSU 'Most Likely' Won't Leave ACC Ahead of Tuesday Deadline Amid Rumors

There has been speculation that Florida State has been eyeing a departure from the ACC, but that reportedly is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

According to The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach, an ACC school would have to give notice that it was leaving that conference by Aug. 15 if it wanted to compete elsewhere next year. Sources told Auerbach "the most likely outcome is that Tuesday arrives and the Seminoles do nothing."

Rumors of Florida State exploring the possibility of leaving the ACC began earlier this month when university president Rick McCullough was speaking during a meeting of the Seminoles' Board of Trustees on Aug. 2 and said, "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."

Auerbach pointed out that the ACC "shares the revenue it brings in from its media rights deal equally with all members." The conference's deal with ESPN runs through 2036, leaving member schools without an opportunity to renegotiate for an increase in pay.

In this scenario, Auerbach noted, "FSU is set for the same payout from the conference as Boston College, despite vast differences in the two athletic departments' investment in revenue-generating sports and large gaps in the number of eyeballs they draw for football games."

The potential move for Florida State comes amid an everchanging college football landscape that has seen rampant conference realignment. Earlier this month, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah joined Colorado in departing from the Pac-12 for the Big 12. Oregon and Washington are set to join the Big Ten, following the path of USC and UCLA.

The ACC is reportedly exploring the possibility of adding Cal and Stanford, but ESPN's Andrea Adelson reported Friday that FSU was among four ACC schools opposed to expanding to the West Coast. Auerbach explained that the likely course of action for FSU is to wait a bit before making its decision on leaving the conference.

"One trustee suggested earlier this month that FSU give itself a year to figure out its exit strategy from the ACC," Auerbach wrote. "That could be the best option right now."