TCU Football: Horned Frogs AD Responds to Big East Expansion Rumors

TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte in New York City today made the following comment about a possible Big East invitation:

"TCU is a proud member of the Mountain West Conference," Del Conte said in the statement. "During this period of an ever-changing landscape in collegiate athletics, there has been speculation on future conference affiliation for TCU. Our policy has always been and will remain to not respond to rumors. As part of serving our student-athletes and coaches, we can assure everyone that our No. 1 priority is to always protect TCU's best interests."

Another Big East Football expansion rumor is making the rounds today based on a story by Lenn Robbins in the New York Post. And, no, it's not a long-term program resurrection plan like Marinatto's invitation to Villanova.

Mr. Robbins has talked to a Big East source who said, "TCU is a good program in a good market. That's what you look for."

Fans of Big East football should hope this rumor has legs.

Are the Horned Frogs now ready to bolt from the Mountain West after five years?

Maybe. The Frogs have been no strangers to conference hopping post-SWC dissolution in 1995.

Based on their last three conference memberships, two stints of four years each in the WAC and Conference USA followed by five years in the Mountain West, TCU should be ready to move again.

With the Big East and football expansion, nothing is easy. There are a couple of problems.

Why would the Frogs join an East Coast/East Central conference when the Big 12 has yet to prove it can succeed as a ten-team league? With the Mountain West working hard to earn a BCS bid with new members Boise State, Fresno State, and Nevada, why would the Frogs leave now?

Is milquetoast Marinatto and the Big East leadership finally ready to add a ninth football school? Even with Memphis, Central Florida, and East Carolina practically throwing themselves at him, Marinatto has said no to all football expansion options except Villanova.

But don't confuse TCU with the other expansion candidates. The Horned Frogs have many positives on their side, including an on-campus stadium, loyal fans who travel with the team, location in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, and excellent academic credentials.

Factor in how over-bearing, micro-managing, and selfish the Texas Longhorns have been with regard to cooperative endeavors with any of the other non-Big 12 FBS programs in Texas except Rice.

TCU is tired of dealing with Bevo ball and tired of hearing "No" from Texas every time they ask the Horns to schedule home-and-home games.

With Big East football recruiting lagging, the league should jump at the chance to expand into the fertile recruiting territory of Texas.

TCU in the Big East could be a mutually beneficial relationship.

TCU wouldn't have to wait for the BCS and the alignment of Texas politics on its side to give its football program a permanent bump up.

The Big East would gain a quality academic institution and a Top 10 football program, which is just what it needs.