Two weeks after setting off a firestorm by both blasting his school’s current conference and openly flirting with another, Florida State’s Board of Trustees chairman continues to insist there’s been no contact with the Big 12.
He again, though, left no doubt that FSU is willing to listen if anyone’s willing to pick up the phone and make a call.
“We have not heard a thing and we have not approached them and they have not approached us,” Andy Haggard, the chair of FSU’s board, told the Tallahassee Democrat. “If anybody approaches us, we are certainly going to listen to them. We have an obligation to Florida State to listen. You can’t close the door.”
Ex-Seminoles linebacker and former FSU board trustee Derrick Brooks had previously stated that “as far as I know, the Big 12 reached out to us.” Haggard, FSU president Eric Barron and at least two officials connected to the Big 12 have all previously denied any discussions at any level with each other.
The latest denial of contact from a high-ranking FSU official comes ahead of the start of the Big 12’s annual meetings this week in Kansas City. Certainly the topic of expansion will come up at some point during the meetings, although it appears there’s no consensus among the current membership to add to its current 10-member league.
In addition to FSU, current ACC members Clemson and Miami have been connected to speculation involving the Big 12. The former has publicly stated it would be willing to listen to overtures from other conferences, while the latter, at least publicly, remains committed to the ACC.
(Photo credit: Florida State University)