Dabo Swinney declined to comment on the continuing legal action that FSU and, to a lesser extent, Clemson are taking against the ACC.
So he did not. Swinney instead deferred to Clemson president James P. Clements and AD Graham Neff in a lighthearted but reserved manner.
“That’s so far out of my lane,” Swinney said when asked about the legal battles between FSU boosters and the ACC (h/t TigerNet). “It’s PresidentClements.com and GrahamNeff.com. Or visit AOL.com. However, you should contact them at Clemson.edu. They can answer all of your inquiries. I’m simply trying—I know we have a season. That is all I am concerned about.”
Big Ten and SEC haven’t yet shown interest in FSU and Clemson if they leave the ACC
According to USA Today’s Dan Rorabaugh and Jim Henry, neither the Big Ten nor the SEC are interested in expanding beyond their current group of programs, which includes the B1G’s debuting USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington in 2024, as well as the Red River Rivalry duo of Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC.
“So far neither the Big Ten nor the SEC has shown interest in expanding past their current size, which is growing at the start of the 2024 college football season,” they said in a statement. “USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington will join the Big Ten, bringing the total to 18 teams.” Texas and Oklahoma are entering the Southeastern Conference, which will have 16 teams.
However, that is in an official role. If/when FSU and Clemson become eligible, both are expected to be attractive commodities. Both, however, lack AAU accreditation, which, according to longtime college football radio commentator Greg Swaim’s sources, implies they are unlikely to play in the Big Ten.
“I don’t know how many times I have to bring this up, but of thirteen B1G schools I have quality sources for, eleven of them tell me in no uncertain terms that their school will absolutely, positively NOT vote in a school that is not AAU accredited,” Swaim wrote.