Noles News: Pac-12 set to discuss media deal today as realignment chaos looms

Recruiting

Schools can now initiate electronic communication with 2025 prospects — and Florida State’s recruiting staff is on it:

Florida State Seminoles football 2024 commitments

QUARTERBACK: 4 star Luke Kromenhoek (GA)

RUNNING BACK: 4 star Kam Davis (GA)

RUNNING BACK: 4 star Micahi Danzy (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Camdon Frier (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Lawayne McCoy (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star BJ Gibson (GA)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Elijah Moore (MD)

TIGHT END: 5 star Landen Thomas (GA)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Jonathan Daniels (FL)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Tye Hylton

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Manasse Itete (CA)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star DD Holmes (DC)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Jamorie Flagg (FL)

LINEBACKER: 3 star Jayden Parrish (FL)

LINEBACKER: 3 star Timir Hickman-Collins (SC)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 5 star Charles Lester III (FL)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 4 star Ricky Knight III

DEFENSIVE BACK: 3 star CJ Heard (GA)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 3 star Rydarrius “Red” Morgan (AL)

KICKER: 3 star Jake Weinberg (FL)

Football

Major recognition for two Florida State players, with both quarterback Jordan Travis and running back Trey Benson being named to the Maxwell Award Watch List:

Travis led the ACC and ranked third nationally with his average of 8.35 yards per play, ranked first in the conference and fifth in the country with an average of 9.10 yards per pass attempt, led the ACC and ranked eighth nationally with an average of 14.22 yards per completion and led the ACC and was 14th in the country with a pass efficiency rating of 160.1. His average of 247.2 passing yards per game, 24 total passing touchdowns and 64.0 completion percentage all ranked third in the ACC, while his 194 points responsible for and average of 279.3 yards of total offense per game were fourth in the conference.

Benson’s average of 6.46 yards per rush led the ACC and ranked 13th nationally, and he was second in the ACC and ninth in the country with 14 runs of at least 20 yards. The Greenville, Mississippi, native broke PFF College’s single-season record by forcing 0.51 missed tackles per rush to better the previous record of 0.48. Benson’s nine rushing touchdowns ranked sixth in the conference, and his 10 total touchdowns were 10th. In FSU’s 44-14 win over Boston College, Benson totaled a career-high 177 all-purpose yards and became the first player in program history to score two offensive touchdowns and a kickoff return touchdown in the same game. His kickoff return touchdown was the first opening kickoff return for a touchdown in Doak Campbell Stadium history.

The realignment buzz hasn’t died down, as Arizona’s board of trustees is set to convene today after hastily scheduling a meeting — hours after the Pac-12 could reportedly be meeting to discuss its new media deal.

From the AP:

Pac-12 leaders are scheduled to meet this week and Commissioner George Kliavkoff is expected to present the members with details of a long-awaited and critical potential media rights deal, a person familiar with the conference’s plans told The Associated Press on Monday.

The meeting is set for Tuesday for presidents and chancellors, along with athletic directors, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Pac-12 is not publicly addressing its internal discussions. The meeting, which was first reported by Oregon-based sports blogger John Canzano, comes less than a week after Colorado announced it was leaving the Pac-12 after this year and re-joining the Big 12.

From ESPN:

Arizona has been at the forefront for a potential move to the Big 12, as it had the most extensive talks with the league prior to the Colorado departure. A move by Arizona to the Big 12 would significantly weaken the Pac-12, putting an unstable league on the brink. And no one realizes this more than Robbins.

“He knows the gravity,” said a person familiar with Robbins’ thinking. “He does not want to be the one to break apart the Pac-12.”

That’s why sources say Arizona, Arizona State and Utah — the Pac-12’s remaining three of the so-called Four Corner schools — are expected to lump their futures together.

As another industry source pointed out: “I don’t see any of them having the fortitude to break up the Pac-12 themselves. They’ll break as three. It’s either going to be all three leave, or none leave.”

Simply put, a deal has to be good enough to keep Arizona, Arizona State and Utah in the Pac-12. This all unfolds amid a backdrop where it’s an open secret that Oregon and Washington covet Big Ten invitations, where the TV payouts are nearly double that of any league not named the SEC.

As for the ACC, who continues to nervously sweat as it sees its potential future as the Pac-12’s implodes, Pete Thamel had this to say:

Florida State has long been the unhappiest of the unhappy ACC schools. If FSU, Clemson, Miami or any other aggrieved ACC school wants to, in theory, duck out for the 2024-25 school year, they’d have to notify the league in writing by Aug. 15.

That’s a short time to find a home, as that notice would hypothetically give them a chance to play in a new league for 2024. But no one knows what that league could be, which is perhaps the biggest issue: If you leave, where do you go? And will you win the legal battle to own your rights?

The SEC has been devout about staying put at 16 teams in the short term. And no league wants or can legally afford the exposure of taking a team before it untangles itself from its prior conference situation.

The only thing certain about the ACC is that any defections would create a flurry of lawsuits because the grant of rights tied to the television contract runs more than a decade. There’s always been an inevitability attached to when — not if — those would be tested.

Our Florida State Mount Rushmore series is continuing this week with defensive tackles — who are your top four all-time?

Next up in position previews — tight ends. Florida State returns talent but brought in one of the transfer portal’s biggest names in Jaheim Bell, who has the talent, versatility and potential to be FSU’s next do-it-all playmaker.

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Seven athletes with ties to the Florida State swimming and diving team competed at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships:

Former standout Molly Carlson (2016-2020) took home the first-ever silver medal in 20m women’s high diving.

Rising fifth-year Peter Varjasi swam just off his personal best (22.50) in the 50m free, touching at 22.54 to finish in 42nd place.

Rising sophomore Max Wilson swam a time of 56.65 in the 100m back for 40th place and touched 43rd in the 50m back at 26.62.

Former Seminole Max McCusker (2018-2022) helped Team Ireland place 13th in the men’s 4x100m medley relay, splitting 52.27 in the fly leg. Individually, McCusker placed 40th in the 100m fly at 53.46.

Emma Terebo (2017-21), represented France in the women’s 200m back. She placed 24th, touching at 2:13.95.

Ida Hulkko (2018-19) represented Finland in the women’s 50m and 100m breaststroke events. She placed 21st in the 50m (30.98) and 24th (1:07.58) in the 100m.

Julio Horrego (2017-19) competed for Honduras, placing 37th in the 200m breast (2:20.70) and 43rd in the 100m breast (1:03.04).

Some other swimming accomplishments this summer:

Rising senior Mason Herbet punched his ticket to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials by qualifying in the 100m fly at the 2023 Futures Championships in Ocala, Fla., this weekend.

Rising sophomore Sophie Freeman competed at the British Summer Championships at Ponds Forge International Sports Center from July 22-28.

Throughout the week, Freeman brought home two bronze medals in the fly events. She placed third in the 200m fly at 2:15.75 and 100m fly 1:00.32, which was just off her career best (1:00.27).

The Florida State swimming and diving teams will be represented by six student-athletes at the inaugural LEN (European Swimming Federation) U23 Championships in Dublin, Ireland. The meet will run from August 11-13.

Returning Seminoles Yordan Yanchev (Bulgaria), Jaka Pusnik (Slovenia), Jokubas Keblys (Lithuania) and Julia Mansson (Sweden) will be in action along with newcomers Mayitsa Ratiu (Romania) and Tobias Schulrath (Germany).

A study published by the American Political Science Association has ranked Florida State University’s Political Science Department at No. 16 in faculty research productivity among all U.S. doctoral programs:

The study compared 120 doctoral-granting political science departments nationally and their research productivity in 19 leading general and subfield political science journals from 1990 to 2018. The study evaluated both per-faculty and total number of publications, as well as weighing publications by number of authors and the journal’s impact score.

Department Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science, Brad Gomez, said the study reflects the faculty’s distinguished and consistent productivity.

“One of the remarkable features of the study is that the authors examined the consistency of faculty scholarly productivity over time,” said Gomez. “FSU political science faculty were just as productive at publishing in the top journals during the last 15 years as they were in the preceding 15 years.”

FSU’s Political Science Department’s graduate programs routinely rank among the nation’s top-tier, innovative programs published by U.S. News and World Report, landing the program in 41st this year, in addition to FSU’s overall ranking as a top-20 public university.