Conference Realignment: Florida State To Big 12? No News Coming

Remember all the fuss about a Florida State athletics budget shortfall that was going to send the Seminoles running to the Big 12 in a pure money grab? The move was inevitable, right? Well it appears that John Swofford and Randy Spetman were able to find some extra coin in the couch cushions down at corporate.

The Orlando Sentinel's Coley Harvey, live from the Florida State Board of Trustees meeting (emphasis added):

"Spetman announces that FSU received more than it had expected from the ACC in conference distribution money. The Seminoles received $1.6 million more than the conference had originally told them. Were expecting about $14.1 million given in payouts on Dec. 1 (of last year) and June 1 (of this year). On June 1, the school received the additional money, totaling just short of $16 million for the year.

snip

Spetman asked about the reports about FSU's supposed $2.4 million shortfall entering the 2012-13 budgetary cycle. He didn't say the reports were false, just that they reported what was essentially incomplete information. Because the ACC was conservative on its payout, the athletics board hadn't included the $1.6 million in its budget. So, a shortfall was reported based on the numbers that had been provided."

When asked by reporters about the internet rumors swirling claiming the school has already talked to the Big 12, Florida State president Eric Barron reiterated comments shooting those down.

"We're not seeking anything. We're not expecting anything. There are no conversations going on (with the Big 12). There are a lot of reasons why conference issues are in the news. More money is one of them. Another one, quite frankly, is sort of a feeding frenzy over this particular topic. It gets a lot of people's attention, and they have a lot of opinions."

While it sounds like Florida State isn't going anywhere this summer, Barron and new board chairman Allan Bense did leave the door open for making a move, saying that everyone wants a little more cash money. However, when asked whether reporters and fans should continue to track the Florida State-to-Big 12 drama through mid-August, the date the school would have to tell the ACC they were leaving to join the Big 12 in 2013, Barron simply said "No."