You want Clemson or Florida State in the SEC? It’s not going to happen anytime soon, according to multiple reports on Monday.

SEC expansion is on hold for now.

“We’re positioned at 16 (teams) for a robust future,” an SEC athletic director told Saturday Down South’s Matt Hayes. “The need (to expand) just isn’t there.”

The stance by the SEC presidents to stay at 16 schools – for now – was also confirmed by CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd.

Conference expansion has been this summer’s hottest topic, even hotter than NIL (Name, Image and Likeness), after USC and UCLA made the shocking decision last week to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024.

The abrupt departure by the two California schools created massive amounts speculation and rumors about other schools changing conferences in future months – which is still likely to happen. The SEC, meanwhile, just won’t be adding new members at this time. It will be a spectator to the expanson circus.

Last summer, the SEC kicked off the chaos by adding Texas and Oklahoma to get to 16 schools by 2025. In response to the SEC’s perceived aggressiveness with expansion, three other Power 5 conferences (the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC) ended up forming something called “The Alliance” to collectively agree not to peach each other’s members. Yet the Big Ten poached the Pac-12′s signature schools, threatening the conference’s future existence.

Back to the SEC: Per SDS, the SEC could change its mind about immediate expansion if either Notre Dame or other Pac-12/ACC schools join the Big Ten.