Iconic college football head coach Steve Spurrier isn't afraid of SEC expansion.
As an old school former head coach of the Florida Gators and South Carolina Gamecocks, one would expect Spurrier to be a bit resistant to the idea of conference expansion and realignment.
However, when speaking on A Peek Inside Florida Gators Football, the retired head coach had a strong take on the possibility of the Florida State Seminoles and Clemson Tigers joining the SEC.
“I think FSU definitely belongs in the SEC,” Spurrier admitted. “But Clemson sort of belongs there also. But I don’t know if the SEC wants to go to 18 teams. So I don’t know, maybe the Big Ten would like to have them. Who knows? But it is what it is. I think you just go one year at a time and then after that see where you’re at and go from there.”
The possibility of the two schools leaving the ACC has dominated the conference's media days. The ACC's Grant of Rights has prevented the schools from bolting to other conferences, and despite a lawsuit from the two schools, commissioner Jim Phillips has made it clear that he plans on continuing to battle the two schools.
"I can state that we will fight to protect the ACC and our members for as long as it takes," Phillips told reporters. "We are confident in this league and that it will remain a premier conference in college athletics for the long-term future. These disputes continue to be extremely damaging, disruptive and incredibly harmful to the league."
It's a messy situation, but even when an iconic coach like Spurrier has accepted conference expansion, it might be a signal that times are indeed changing in college football.
