Plenty of distinguished people from Tallahassee to Austin have weighed in on the Florida State-to-Big 12 rumors that heated up this month. Now legendary FSU coach Bobby Bowden has put his opinion on the record, and he is not in favor of a potential move to the Big 12.

Bowden went on Jack Arute's SiriusXM radio program on Thursday and, in his best Southern drawl, emphatically advocated that the 'Noles stay put. Via John Taylor at CollegeFootballTalk:

"My message would be stay in the ACC," Bowden told Arute in a transcript provided by SiriusXM. "Do you want to win a National Championship at Florida State? You've got a better chance in the ACC than you have in the Big 12, or even the SEC.

"You say, ‘Well, gosh, they're much stronger in those conferences.' Yeah! They beat up on each other and you can't hardly get there. You know what? Florida State, wait ‘til you get good enough to rule the ACC then you start looking for someplace to jump. But my opinion? They should stay right where they are."

Bowden also cited increased travel costs for all the non-revenue sports as another reason to stay in the ACC, stating that the East Coast is FSU's "base."

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