Two ACC Teams Touted Ideal SEC Fits as Big 12 Turns Down Memphis’ $200M Bid

It’s been an unusually quiet summer in the college football world—almost too quiet. But seasoned fans know the game behind the game: when expansion talk goes silent, it’s usually because something’s cooking. This time, it’s not who’s leaving—but who fits where next. As Memphis’ eye-popping $200 million bid to join the Big 12 hits a brick wall, two powerhouse programs from the ACC are being whispered about in the same breath as the SEC’s gold standard.

When Josh Pate pulled up to SEC Media Days, you already knew there was gonna be some heat dropped. SEC insider Cousin Shane asked him straight up: Should the SEC expand, and if so, who’s built for it? Pate didn’t flinch: “Clemson’s obviously a fit. Florida State’s obviously a fit.” He low-key acknowledged that university presidents and guys like Greg Sankey weigh media markets and TV eyeballs, but Pate? He’s a fit-over-funding kind of guy. “I’ve always thought about whether you’re a fit or not,” he said. “I don’t care about media rights—I don’t run a network.” Pate talks in fits. To him, the right schools has to feel SEC. And few do like Clemson and FSU.

Thing is, both schools haven’t exactly been cozy with the ACC lately. The drama hit the courtroom back in late 2023 when Florida State sued the conference over their Grant of Rights deal—the same contract that locks in their media rights until 2036. Clemson joined the fight in early 2024, arguing they should keep control of their media rights if they ever bounced. And oh yeah, that exit fee? An absolutely nasty price tag: up to $572 million, according to Florida State’s lawyers. That’s ‘we might need a GoFundMe’ level insane.

But after all the legal mudslinging, things shifted in March 2025. That’s when the ACC, FSU, and Clemson came to a truce—a settlement that changed the money game. The league agreed to a new 60/40 revenue split: 60% based on five-year viewership numbers (translation: the hot-shot programs like FSU and Clemson get more), and 40% equally shared. On top of that, the exit fee would now drop year by year, starting from $165 million in 2025 and falling to $75 million by 2030. Oh, and the cherry on the top? If you pay the fee, you keep your media rights. Just like that, the ACC’s biggest leash got snipped.

Despite pulling in a record $711 million in 2023-24 and sitting third in Power Five revenue distribution, the ACC’s internal tension is louder. The big dogs—Clemson, FSU—feel they’re being held back while they carry the weight. That pressure cooker? It’s only getting hotter. And yet, Josh Pate tapped the brakes, reminding listeners that the real drama happens in the shadows. “Some guy in a really expensive suit will tell you, ‘I’d rather you contract. Honestly, I think 16’s too many,’” Pate said. He even floated the idea of restructuring the SEC into four divisions—maybe into 4–4–4–4, just to balance the chaos. “But the imbalance in the schedule is insane right now. The ability—or the reality, I guess—that Missouri and Florida are playing in the same conference, to look at those two schedules, is crazy to me.”

Josh Pate summed it up perfectly: “When it’s quietest, that’s usually when the most is going on behind the scenes.” Remember Texas and the Oklahoma Sooners? Nobody thought the move would come that fast until it did. So the question isn’t whether Clemson and Florida State are SEC material—they are. The real question is timing. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that expansion doesn’t wait for public consensus. It arrives with little warning and massive consequences.

Big 12 rejects ACC’s Memphis Tigers’ $200 million jump

While the SEC courts top-tier talent, the Big 12 just closed its doors on a bold proposal from Memphis. According to On3’s Brett McMurphy, the Tigers offered a staggering $200 million to join the Big 12—and were diabolically turned down.

That’s right. Two hundred million dollars. Declined without hesitation.

Memphis has been knocking for years, building a resume with AAC success—conference titles in 2014 and 2019, and an 11–2 season in 2024 capped with a Frisco Bowl victory over West Virginia. Backed by heavy-hitting sponsors and corporate partners, their pitch wasn’t just about tradition; it was a business case. Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported that the offer included hundreds of millions in branding and sponsorship commitments.

University of Memphis’ president Bill Hardgrave made personal appeals, traveling to meet with Big 12 leadership. The college believed in its market value, regional relevance, and trajectory. But none of it proved enough. Why? The Big 12 is already recalibrating after recent additions—Cincinnati, UCF, Houston, and BYU—and sources say the bar for further expansion is sky-high. They’re not looking for potential—they want prestige. And despite Memphis’ football credibility, they lack the TV audience and national pull of a Florida State or an Oregon.

For Memphis, it’s a brutal setback. They had the wins, the backing, the money—and still couldn’t break through. When conferences start chasing headlines and legacy brands, schools like Memphis get left behind, briefcase in hand, waiting on an invitation that may never come.

In this age of seismic shifts, it’s clear: cash matters, but clout matters more. Cash doesn’t mean squat without clout’s backing.