If Sankey approached Texas and suggested that they leave the XII he might be accused of tampering with the existing contract between TX and XII. So no matter who starts it, the public announcement must always be: The school approached the conference first. When FSU insists that they are acting entirely on their own, it's to prevent a perception that they are acting in conspiracy with other schools, a media company, or another conference. If other ACC schools follow FSU's path, FSU will declare that they never communicated their plans to any second party. Those schools made their own decision to leave. I think in this latest case for Sankey, he is sending indirect signals to ACC schools and The B1G that he is not interested in FSU, but in UNC/UVa instead. He is also telling The B1G that we should settle this redistribution before it causes a bidding war. The reason this bothers me is that it can be a sign of weakness by The SEC. His boast is that he could add lots of schools if he wanted to, but he prefers to sit still and let things settle. It's an indication that he can't even make a play for FSU, if they get away from The ACC. I knew the time would come when ESPN would leave Sankey hanging out to dry. I did not expect it to feel so eerie. I thought ESPN would take big damage as well. But no, ESPN has a path to prosperity if The ACC breaks.