TCU To the Big East: Horned Frogs' Move Is a Blow to the Big 12
Aside from all the hustle and bustle about the BCS standings, the big news this morning came out of Fort Worth, Texas, where the board of trustees at Texas Christian University voted unanimously to accept an invitation to join the Big East and have all of its sports teams begin playing in the league beginning in the 2012-2013 academic year.
The big takeaway, of course, is that TCU, currently ranked third in the BCS, will, in two years, begin playing football in a league that holds the keys to an automatic berth in a BCS bowl.
While this shift does not change the fact that the Horned Frogs will likely play in the Rose Bowl this year, it greatly affects the future prospects of both the TCU football program, which will be making its fourth conference switch since the disbanding of the Southwest Conference, and the Big East, a league whose prestige in football has crumbled since Miami (FL), Virginia Tech and Boston College bolted for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Though all the parties involved come out as winners, there is one clear loser that has not been given proper attention.
The Big 12.
Why the Big 12?
Amidst Nebraska's move to the Big Ten and Colorado's switch to the Pac-10 this past summer, Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe had the opportunity to invite TCU, among other schools, to join his shrinking league but decided that the conference would be best served to move forward as a 10-team league instead.
So what is the Big 12 missing out on now that the Horned Frogs are joining the Big East?
Messing with Texas: A Perfect Geographic Fit
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For one, TCU would have fit perfectly into the Big 12 geographically.
The Big 12 already boasts schools in Austin (Texas), College Station (Texas A&M), Lubbock (Texas Tech) and Waco (Baylor)
With TCU, the Big 12 would have expanded its reach across the state of Texas to Fort Worth and, by association, Dallas.
Had Beebe also considered extending an invitation to the University of Houston, he could have kept his league at 12 teams without leaving the conference's main state.
Plus One: Keeping a Conference Championship Game
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With 12 teams, TCU among them, the Big 12 could have continued to stage a championship game against the North and South division winners.
However, now that the league will have only 10 teams, it will no longer be allowed to stage a separate game for the league championship, per NCAA rules.
Hence, the Big 12 will lose the privilege of staging a game between two high-quality teams that would likely boost the profile of the league.
Rising Tides: Improving the Overall Quality of the League
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It's certainly difficult, if not downright foolish, to try to argue that TCU or Houston would have adequately made up for the loss of Nebraska and Colorado.
Well, maybe not Colorado, considering the Buffs' consistent struggles in recent years.
While neither school can boast of a winning tradition anywhere near that of the Cornhuskers, at least in football, it would be just as foolish to deny either of them membership on the grounds of quality.
Consider programs like Baylor, Missouri and Texas Tech, whose success in the big money sports often fluctuates wildly from year to year.
Or even Iowa State, a school without any sort of memorable tradition in football, basketball or baseball.
Certainly, TCU and Houston would bring as much, if not more, history and tradition to the conference than those schools currently offer.
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Money, Money, and More Money
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As with everything in big time college football, all of this boils down to one thing—money.
By passing over the possibility of extending membership to TCU, the Big 12 lost out on a number of lucrative opportunities, some of which the Big East will surely benefit from.
In terms of its own losses, the Big 12, by neglecting to invite anyone into the conference to replace Nebraska and Colorado and keep the league at 12 teams, is effectively forfeiting the millions of dollars in television, ticket, advertising and merchandise revenue that comes from staging a conference championship game.
Aside from that, Dan Beebe's presumed arrogance in not inviting the Horned Frogs to the Big 12 dance cost his conference a shot at strengthening its hold on the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which, by the way, is the fifth largest media market in the country.
Add to that the Houston area, which ranks as the 10th largest media market in the country and is still up for grabs as the University of Houston remains a member of Conference USA, and the Big 12 has left quite a bit of money on the table since the Summer of Shrinkage.
How Might It All Play Out?
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So what's next for TCU and the Big 12?
The Horned Frogs will move into a cozy spot in the Big East and likely contend for a BCS berth as long as Gary Patterson is in charge.
The Big 12, on the other hand, may very well face a significant decline in viewership and, consequently, revenue for its member schools.
And with the inequity already inherent in the conference's television deals with Texas and Oklahoma, Dan Beebe may find himself with yet another crisis of conference dissolution to deal with sooner rather than later.
In other words, the Big 12 may go the way of the Big 8 and the Southwestern Conference when all is said and done.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
