Florida State has been at the forefront of Big 12 expansion rumors, and that's once again the case on Saturday. According to the always reliable OrangeBloods.com, Florida State has been looking into the expenses that it would incur as a consequence of leaving the ACC for the Big 12, notably, travel expenses.
An inevitable spike in travel costs for Florida State's athletic program have been at the forefront of the the debate about FSU's viability in the Big 12. A college athletics consulting firm suggests that FSU's travel budget could increase up to 40 percent if it realigned, but that the expense would not outweigh the potential profitability of a move to the Big 12.
Russell Wright, Managing Director of Collegiate Consulting, Inc., estimates that Florida State would see its travel budget increase as much as 40 percent with the move from the ACC to the Big 12. According to Florida State's projected athletic budget for the current 2011-12 academic year, Florida State is slated to spend $4.36 million on team travel for its 18 varsity sports. A 40 percent increase on that would amount to about a $1.74 million bump in travel costs.
As D.C. Reeves states in the first paragraph, the additional expenses would not outweigh the profitability of a move to the Big 12.
It should come to no surprise to anybody at all following conference realignment stories that it is all about money at the end of the day. The folks at Florida State are certainly doing their due diligence in looking at the potential extra costs they would incur by moving to the Big 12. At the end of the day, however, the move would still be profitable. If another team from the eastern part of the United States joined Florida State, such as Clemson, Miami, or Georgia Tech, that could help mitigate some travel costs as well.
As always, be sure to check back here at SB Nation Dallas all summer long for the latest news regarding Big 12 expansion.