While Clemson has long been rumored as the second school to join Florida State in the new-look Big 12, there's apparently no consensus among school officials about such a move.
In an interview with the Charleston Post and Courier, Tigers football coach Dabo Swinney came out strongly in favor of staying in the ACC:
And when addressing rumors about Clemson's interest in the Big 12, Swinney said it would be the "worst thing" Clemson could do as a program and makes "zero sense."
Swinney said the Internet rumors of Clemson's interest in moving to the Big 12 have been "frustrating" to deal with as he has had to reassure recruits that Clemson is committed to the ACC.
"I think there has been a lot of irresponsible blogging and reporting whatever you want to call it," Swinney said. "We live in this world (where) somebody hears something from the guy in the third stall down and it's like, ‘OK it's fact.' It's so far from reality it's not even funny. We're 1,000 percent committed to the ACC."
The Tigers are coming off their most successful season in a generation, winning the ACC for the first time since 1991.
But while Swinney and the football staff would seem to prefer to stay in place now that they've finally moved to the top of their conference, any decision to switch would be driven by long-term fears about the new hierarchy in college football and not how it would affect Clemson's ability to compete in the short-term.
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