TCU Big East Bound

Nice, who would think TCU would join a conference thousands of miles away to avoid being in the same conference as Boise State.

the mountain woulve been better than the big least if they stayed… and arguably the acc. and certainly more fun to watch than the big 10.
Boise, TCU, AFA, Fresno St, and Nevada wouldve been pretty solid… wouldve racked in more $ and things woulda snowballed.

instead, the MWC is now just a slightly better WAC and the WAC is now (more) dogshit.

their SOS will probably go down.

I’m confused why the Big East wants TCU. The TV market? If I live in DFW and wouldn’t watch TCU play New Mexico, why would I now watch them play UConn? Are they worried about losing their automatic qualifier? Isn’t Central Florida coming on as well?

I wonder how this will affect recruiting. I can see the pitch now:

Partterson: You’ll get to see your son on TV 6 times per year. In addition, if you can afford it there are some great locations to visit. Boston, errr ok that’s about it. But you’ll also get 6 games in beautiful Fort Worth.

Mom: Where the hell is Morgantown? Storrs? How do I get to Syracuse, NY

Patterson: Uh, sorry about that Mrs Mother of Div 1 football player, Boston College is no longer in the Big East. Actually, there are no nice destinations in the Big East for you to visit.

I think it is a no brainer for TCU. All they want is BCS and the AQ. The Big XII isn’t going to call.

Patterson: Uh once again, sorry, but I guess the cable station down here in Texas doesn’t actually show Big East games. Soooo, no TV for your son either. Oops.

And when Patterson leaves and TCU football returns to their natural station in life, the Big East will be stuck with a TCU travel millstone around thier necks.

TCU wants in an AQ conference – the Big East is trying to beef up to assure they are one of the remaining power conferences in the next shake down. But it is desperation moves on both their parts. The final four will be PAC-XX, Big-10+whatever, the SEC and the ACC.

I am impressed with what Boise State and TCU have done on the field the last few years.

However, the reality of their small ALMOST NEVER sold-out stadiums makes the long term financial success of their programs very suspect.

TCU is getting about the best deal it can hope for with this move.

Boise better not linger in a non-BCS conference very long.

The road to any kind of play-off absolutely runs through the BCS conferences and the bowls that they control and profit from. By its very nature, the access to a play-off must be limited to protect the haves from the have-nots.

Desperation move by the BE.

Win win for TCU and the Big Least.

Hey Roach, Rutgers is the same distance from Manhattan that Ft. Worth is from Dallas, and NYC is a nice trip in the fall. Same for CT when the leaves are turning and Tampa outside of summer. If the mom has ESPN, she’ll be able to see her son on TV basically every week as long as Patterson stays. Lots of Big Least games on weeknights carried nationally with 6-7pm starts. Far more exposure than on the obscure The Mountain or CBS College Sports channel.

Aggie said:

No more so that travel to USF, which seems to have worked out ok. Plus a foothold for recruiting in Texas and more bargaining power for their upcoming ESPN contract negotiations. Did you notice how many Boise games ESPN had this year? As long as they win, ESPN will prefer TCU-whoever over Rutgers-Cin or Lou-USF in those weeknight games.

Though I understand why aTm is always nervous about being overshadowed, hence their constant badmouthing of TCU, Tech, Baylor, SMU, and UH. A valid concern.

I’m with Marsha on this one. Not on the Aggie bashing, but the potential. Big East gets an immediate marquee name and no longer has to worry about losing AQ status. Plus access to Texas and DFW market (no, not huge, but better than nothing; see USF). TCU gets an upgrade to AQ status and lessens its SOS concerns with regards to a potential BCS or MNC appearance. Nothing good lasts forever, but this seems like a beneficial marriage for the immediate future.

The MWC has gotten fucked over. They have lost Utah, BYU, and now TCU. They only picked up Boise. They went from thinking they could pull an AQ in the BCS from the BE to nothing. I almost feel bad for them.

Marsha,

Give me a break. The last time TCU beat A&M was during Nixon’s first term. And those of us involved in college athletics know exactly how TCU got to where they are. Don’t make me get into it here again.

The money that the A&M, Texas and OU athletic programs generate will always leave those programs at a better level than the likes of those other schools you mention. And money is what gives you staying power.

Think about it – if A&M was having TCU’s season right now, $ Bill would be charging $100 a seat for every game and selling out in 5 minutes. TCU is still giving away tickets with a minimum $20 grocery purchase at Tom Thumb. That sums it up right there.

The BE is in process of putting together its own network as well. Let’s face facts, with broadband you really never need to miss any college football game. Unless you’re A&M of course.

The Frogs will now get a lot more media attention. Should be a huge impact on basketball, but they will need a new BB facility soon in order to take advantage of the BE access.

Whenever Patterson does leave the program, he will leave behind a program that a lot of coaches would want to head up.

There’s no longer an AQ BCS monopoly in the state of Texas. Open, competitive markets are a good thing for every consumer.

Hey, we pulled for you guys against Alabama last year. Hope y’all return the favour.

And good luck down the road, too. Who knows, we might meet up one January day soon……

Because you guys won’t play them. In the last 6 years TCU has played UT, OU, Tech, Baylor, SMU, and Houston, but no aTm since the SWC broke up.

That is not true. We played TCU in the Mattress Mack Bowl in – what was it – 2002? Whoop ya’, too.

So is it now “Benbrook, where the west begins”?

Big East gets an immediate marquee name

Nationally TCU has about as much appeal as USF.

A lot of explaining of what a horned toad is as well. Neither toad nor frog and damned near extinct due to the fire ant invasion.

Hey, we pulled for you guys against Alabama last year. Hope y’all return the favour.

If you did, then you appeared to be in the minority. All I heard/read in the local news here in DFW was how Patterson & his purple flock were hoping Texas would lose to Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game. They weren’t the least bit happy Texas was able to eke out a win, either.

“And those of us involved in college athletics know exactly how TCU got to where they are. Don’t make me get into it here again.”

Ah, the irony. Thanks for the laugh.

Ignorant much?

I lived in Connecticut, Storrs is not a nice place to visit. For two weeks each year the leaves change BFD. What are the odds TCU plays CT at the same time the leaves change every other year.

The Mountain has got to be pissed. They worked so hard to gather the talent for a AQ ask.

But Boise just lost the main competition (you can argue for BYU) on a regular basis. I know they lost to future Mountain mate Nevada, but I do not see the Pack staying up that high all the time.

TCU has moved a lot: WAC, C-USA, Mountain, Big East. I guess it has not hindered their football growth. In fact, it has probably helped them in that they have a lot of cream puffs to pad the W column with year in and year out. Languishing in the Big 12 (a la Baylor) may have delayed their growth.

At least the WAC now has UTSA and Texas State.

Will the TCU baseball team also move to the Big East ?

And maybe Phil Fulmer.

TCU may hurt for fans but they do not hurt for cash. The small # of alums they do have are willing to donate large dollars to win. The $100M stadium cash was raised in like 5-7 months and the baseball stadium was raised so quickly they didn’t even ask all alums for donations. With the skyboxes and club level seats in the new stadium they’ll make more than half the big 12 (obviously the crappy half).

I’ve heard no reasonable argument for TCU not to do this. They get better exposure (ESPN > Versus or CBSsports), more money (BCS > NonBCS), and better opponents name wise.

Oh, it’s a big win for TCU. The Big East is counting on the football program remaining really good. Average will not do. I think that’s a bad bet.

Dear Joetx:

You are absolutely right about the B12 title game last year. But that’s not the game I was referencing; I was talking about the Alabama game. The one with the Dr. Pepper crystal thingy attached – which the Tide subsequently hauled around to every Wal-Mart in the state.

There is a water’s-edge rule in Texas football. We Frogs were pissed off about the phantom one second in Arlington, but we got over it once you took the field against Alabama Inc.

Torre:

The baseball team will move over to the Big E. Unfortunately, so will our embarrassingly poor basketball team. Maybe we can get Jamie Dixon away from Pitt, who knows…….

In spite of the geography, this makes absolute sense for both sides, at least for the near future, and the near future is about all anyone can plan for these days.

TCU gets membership in a BCS automatic qualifying conference which they will run roughshod through with Patterson at the helm. They also get excellent East Coast media exposure, which will help their national perception.

Big East gets great exposure for Texas recruiting and a team with a recent BCS resume to shore up their claims to continued BCS automatic qualification.

It may not last more than five years, but who the hell knows what changes will come in five years?

Marriage of convenience, to be dissolved when needed.
 
I hope both parties were smart enough to get a pre-nup.

@ Philly Frog – I know you’re talking about the BCS title game. My point was, from my observations here in the Metroplex, the hate/bitter feelings didn’t die down after the CCG was won (phantom one second my ass), especially when you add in the near century long “UT is the evil empire” mindset that pervades all of our former SWC brethren, TCU included.

Alas, I don’t hold a grudge. I hope y’all do well, for state pride’s sake. However, I am tired of hearing/reading that the Big 12-2 should take in TCU & UH. Sorry, but you boys had your chances. I don’t want another SWC.

FWIW, a close friend of my daughter’s is a TCU grad. She told my daughter, a UT grad, that she would root for Alabama. If necessary, my daughter will return the favor this year.

I can understand why TCU was rooting against us in the Big XII title game because they were hoping to get into the MNC game and needed us to lose. In the end they got jumped in the final rankings by Cincinnati so it wouldn’t have mattered, but why were they rooting against us in the MNC game? Lingering animosity from the old SWC days?

To me this says the Big East does not believe they’ll be around in the current state for too much longer. As many have said, this makes great sense in the short term for both school and conference.

Nothing says Aggie more than slurs implying cheating and then fire ant smack. Go print up your tri-lateral sub conference divisional championships t-shirts and please tell me when you play in a January bowl game this century.

TCU was forced to make this move when Utah bolted to the Pac 22 or whatever they are called now and BYU was told in a vision to go independent. Boise in that conference was not going to be enough to be an automatic qualified and it would be bad for both schools to stay together in a conference.

Truly don’t understand what the BE gains with adding TCU. We have a very little media footprint, I truly don’t believe kids from Garland and Mansfield will start flocking to Pitt and Syracuse to play football and TCU’s basketball program has been nothing short of shitty for almost two decades.

Problem for the Frogs I truly believe is that they have climbed as high as they can in the current system and conference structure. The Big XII has too much deadweight to take on another small school with limited media exposure and geographically there are many other options.

If the Big 12 wanted TCU it would have happened by now- they’ll never be a better match for a conference. I do wonder what their plan is (ha, like the Big 12 ever has a plan).

As far as dead weight, in the leaner Big 12-2, even the poorest sisters in Lubbock, Waco and Ames make more than any of the presumable replacements: BYU, Utah, etc.

TCU was the best option short of poaching from other BCS conferences and even those supposed options (Arkansas, Arizona, etc) are down there with the Missouri’s and KStates as far as income and provide very little by way of built-in media market.

All this has to do is get both sides a seat at the table when the BCS TV contract expires in a few years, nothing more. That’s all any of these manueverings, whether NU, TCU, or us involve.

Just make sure you have a seat at the table when the music stops.

Awesome. Just what I’d always hoped for when we started Barking Carnival. Aggies and Horned Frogs arguing.

Jesus Christ. Fire the right people, Mack, so we can get back to a bowl.

I don’t know why people keep thinking that the B12 must get back to 12.

Awesome. Just what I’d always hoped for when we started Barking Carnival. Aggies and Horned Frogs arguing.
Jesus Christ. Fire the right people, Mack, so we can get back to a bowl.

Cheer up Sailor, it could be worse.

At least we aren’t arguing about the merits of the extra practices we would get if we went to a bowl at 5-7.

ugh!!!! I am happy the offensive players won’t have an etra month under the staff

Davey O’Brien,

Thanks for that constructive input. Once again, scoreboard since 1972. That’s really all that matters. When you can talk to me about scoreboard, I’ll listen to you.

There is a reason kids from the Metroplex don’t go to TCU. Proximity doth not make the heart grow fonder. Coaches around the Metroplex know what TCU has been doing for a long time to make that two star defensive end a lot bigger and a lot faster. Local kids are encouraged to think about their future health and well being before they think about gridiron glory at TCU.

And before you rend your garment and scream sacrilege, this is straight from athletes inside the TCU football program, both past and present, who saw what it takes to get into the two deep. So unless you are inside the football program, do not try to counter what I just said.

TCU is a Johnny Come Lately. You have to give it to TCU, they struck while the iron was hot. Playing in the BE in November/travel is a sure one loss season. TCU will begin their slow slide back into mediocrity. Side note: TCU fans resent us arrogant Longhorns.

Dear Ag:

You do have scoreboard, a lot of it during a period of time where you were cheating out your ass. I prefer to live in the present and not the past.

The steroid accusation isn’t worth arguing, and I am connected with the program. We have a strength & conditioning program that is legitimately excellent.

That said, I am natively proud of football at all levels in Texas. Except the Cowboys. And let’s face facts here, Oklahoma is a suburb of Texas when it comes to football. Although I gladly have no cultural affinity with College Station, I will gladly watch it win whatever bowl game it might find itself in this year. Ditto Waco and Lubbock. Anyone who believes that Austin won’t be back at the top of the conference soon, with or without a new coaching staff, likely also believes a Democrat will win the next Governor race.

TCU is going to its second BCS bowl game in a row. It has some chance at the big one. I don’t think many hated Northwestern their recent renaissance, and I don’t think many hate the Frogs now during theirs. Purple really is a great color to wear.

It is a diminishing mind that stereotypes a group based on a limited sample. If anyone has had a bad impression of a TCU fan, my apologies. I know far more positive Aggie fans than bad. They just haven’t had a lot to cheer about until the last few weeks; does it really feel that great to beat a team like Texas when it’s down?

I respect good football when I see it. I prefer to see it in Texas. Everything else is really pretty silly.

Ag,

Your are more predictable than Magnus’ bowel movement the next morning after a game watching party at Hooters.