For the Mountain West Conference, the addition of Texas Christian University this fall provides the league with a ninth member, a foothold and increased exposure in a different part of the country, a more lucrative television contract and, perhaps, a shot at breaking into the Bowl Championship Series.
For TCU, joining the MWC likely means long-term stability (this marks the Horned Frogs' fourth conference stop in 10 years), the potential to generate more money for its athletic department, and perhaps, a shot at breaking into the BCS.
The move appears to be mutually beneficial. It looks like TCU and the MWC were made for each other. "We have like desires and where we see ourselves in the scheme of things," explains TCU director of media relations Steve Fink.
In the wake of the Atlantic Coast Conference's bold raid of the Big East in 2003, the Mountain West Conference came to the realization that eight members were not enough. The college sports landscape was shifting, and the MWC knew it needed to act in a deliberate and thorough way.
As part of a ripple effect, the issue of expansion came up among MWC presidents not long after Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College announced they were ditching the Big East for the ACC. MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson was giddy about the situation, knowing that it might have opened the door for his conference to get into the BCS when the current BCS contract expires at the end of the 2005 season.
While Fresno State and Hawaii were hoping to become members of the MWC — Boise State was another potential candidate — the league instead announced in January 2004 that TCU would be joining its ranks.
MWC officials explored the idea of adding anywhere from one to four new schools to the fold. In the end, they targeted TCU, whose football program has been on the rise for several seasons. Officials within the conference are glad that Dallas-Fort Worth is now part of the conference's geography.
TCU is a private institution with an enrollment of 8,000, making it the second-smallest school in the MWC, behind Air Force (4,000). While the MWC is already a diverse conference, with disparate locales like San Diego, Laramie, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque and the Denver area, TCU brings yet another diverse destination in Fort Worth.
"Fort Worth is a very nice town with a big city feel," said BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe, who toured the TCU campus in the spring. "TCU has a beautiful campus. They have a nice stadium and a gorgeous baseball stadium. Most importantly, I like the people. They're a great partner for the MWC. TCU will raise the competitiveness of our league. Personally, I'm really excited about it. I couldn't be happier."
"We bring a great city, an excellent location in the Metroplex area," says TCU athletic director Danny Morrison. "We have a wonderful academic institution and excellent facilities. TCU is a terrific addition for the Mountain West. It works both ways. The Mountain West is a great place for TCU. It's a great fit academically and athletically."
Lest anyone believe that the Horned Frogs are simply just happy to be in the MWC, think again. "We're not coming in to be the ninth team in the league in every sport," Fink says. "We certainly hope, and expect, to be competitive. We want to win championships."
While Thompson says further expansion "isn't on the radar" right now, Holmoe says the addition of TCU "sets the stage for possibly 10 teams" in the future.
Here's a look at several salient issues pertaining to the addition of TCU:
New television contract
This was no small factor in TCU's admittance to the MWC.
While TCU has changed over the past seven years, so has the Mountain West Conference. Not long after the MWC was conceived in 1999, the league signed a seven-year, $48 million contract with ESPN to broadcast the league's football and basketball games.
In 2003, with that contract on the verge of expiring at the end of the 2005-06 academic year and the league working to renegotiate a new, more lucrative deal, MWC officials looked East, to Texas, specifically to Dallas-Fort Worth, which is located in the seventh-largest market in the nation.
Market size played a key role in the rights fee and the deal that was eventually signed with the fledgling College Sports Television network, according to Thompson. "We're limited in the Mountain Time Zone," he said. "We're in never-never land. There aren't a whole lot of TV sets out here. But there is a lot of passion for our teams."
Almost one year ago, the MWC and CSTV agreed on a seven-year deal, with a seven-year option, that will pay $82 million — more than doubling the current pact with ESPN. The contract begins in 2006.
Interestingly, TCU will maintain a longstanding relationship with ESPN as ESPN Regional handles the marketing for TCU. "We have the luxury of having a great relationship with ESPN and CSTV," Morrison said. "It will continue after next year. CSTV is going to be very positive."
While the conference will have to divide the financial pie nine ways now, instead of eight, the league wouldn't have received the $82 million CSTV contract without TCU.
Scheduling
For football, it's an ideal situation. With nine members in the conference, each team will have eight conference games — four at home and four on the road. In basketball, it means 16 conference games but it also means the demise of travel partners, which could cause some scheduling headaches.
In general, the conference is pleased with nine members. "A nine-team conference is a superb number," Morrison said.
TCU's overall program
Besides a solid football program, which boasts three 10-win seasons since 2000, TCU is strong overall. The Frogs won C-USA championships in three sports last season. Plus, TCU's basketball team posted a 21-14 mark last season and advanced to the NIT quarterfinals, marking the program's first postseason appearance since 1999.
"They're very good in women's basketball, football and baseball. Those are sports where they have the potential to be in top 25 every year," Thompson said. "They will help the competitive level of our conference."
"If you look at the program across the board, we bring strength throughout," Fink says. "In baseball, we've won back-to-back (NCAA) regionals. In golf, we were in the top 10 this year. In women's basketball, we've gone to five straight NCAA tournaments. If you go up and down the deal, we bring another team in the hunt (for championships). Overall, we think the Mountain West is a strong league. There are a couple of sports where C-USA is stronger, like baseball. We would like to see the conference get better in that sport."
Another bowl possibility
Fort Worth hosts the Fort Worth Bowl, which, down the road, could give the MWC another bowl tie-in. Right now, the Fort Worth Bowl has a contract with the Big 12 and Conference USA. But the MWC has been in negotiations to secure a tie-in in the future. "It would make sense to keep the bowl affiliated with the league that TCU belongs to," Fink says.
Recruiting
It's no secret that Texas is a recruiting hotbed, especially in football. MWC teams already recruit hard in the Lone Star State, but that figures to increase dramatically with frequent trips to play at TCU. It will help the MWC enhance its presence in Texas.
"We're excited to have TCU back in our conference, among other reasons because it will help strengthen our recruiting ties to Texas," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham.
"It's a tremendous benefit for our league," Thompson said. "Ten percent of the players on our football rosters are from Texas. We have a quite a few basketball players from Texas, too. Air Force's Nick Welch is from Fort Worth. I know that's one kid who's excited about TCU coming into the Mountain West."
Rivalries and location
One of the reasons the old 16-team WAC broke up seven years ago was the paucity of "natural" rivalries.
TCU is not a natural rival of any MWC school. Still, TCU officials know, from experience, that rivalries can develop quickly. Intense competition tends to breed rivalries. When TCU joined Conference USA, it had few natural rivals in that league, but with the Horned Frogs battling Southern Miss every year for the football championship, that changed.
"Southern Miss was not close geographically, but it became a rivalry," Fink says. "The rivalries will work out with the home-and-home setup."
"In Conference USA, rivalries established in a short period of time," Morrison said. "It will be the same in the Mountain West."
Morrison adds that the MWC football schedule, along with non-conference schedule of regional rivals like SMU and Oklahoma, make for a good blend. "It's the best of both worlds," he says. "It casts our exposure on a wider front."
Travel cost, convenience
Based in the Central Time Zone (the rest of the MWC plays in the Mountain or Pacific time zones), the closest MWC school to TCU is New Mexico (Albuquerque), some 650 miles away. San Diego State is 1,300 miles away.
That could mean higher travel costs for the Frogs. However, TCU officials say that overall, the school will benefit more financially by being in the MWC. Fink points out that trips to East Carolina and Army, members of C-USA, weren't cheap either. "Travel was something we looked at hard," he said. "We felt the pros outweighed the cons."
Overall, Thompson says, travel costs for conference games will be offset by not having to pay a rights fee when hosting a conference team, which is required when entertaining a non-conference opponent. "You don't have to pay the rights to bring a (non-conference) team in. It's like a free home football game. That's substantial savings," he says. "And, hopefully, we'll get more fans to those games when TCU comes to town because they'll want to see TCU play."
Thompson points out that getting to Fort Worth is convenient and relatively easy for teams and fans. "There are nonstop flights to Fort Worth from every market," he says. "It's an easy place to get to. The airport is just 40 minutes from TCU's campus. The flight from Denver to Fort Worth is less than 90 minutes. It's a long trip to San Diego, but it'll work out. It gives new places for our fans to visit."
TCU's intercollegiate sports
Baseball
Men's basketball
Women's basketball
Cross country
Football
Men's golf
Women's golf
Rifle
Women's soccer
Swimming & diving
Men's tennis
Women's tennis
Track & field
Volleyball
Timeline of conference changes (25 years)
1980 — Air Force joins Western Athletic Conference, giving the league nine members.
1992 — Fresno State joins the WAC, bringing the number of league members to 10.
1996 — TCU, Rice, Southern Methodist, UNLV, San Jose State and Tulsa join WAC, increasing the total number of members to 16.
1999 — BYU, Utah, Colorado State, New Mexico, Wyoming, San Diego State, Air Force and UNLV leave the WAC and form a new, eight-team league, the Mountain West Conference.
2005 — TCU joins MWC, giving the Mountain West nine members.
Friday: After years of being a nomad on the college sports scene, TCU hopes it has found a permanent home in the Mountain West Conference.
E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com