TCU joins the Big East in 2012

[diabsoule]

Originally Posted by Vikes99ej

This makes no geographical sense to me. Go money.

If you think about it, neither did TCU in the Mountain West. There aren't any mountains in Dallas/Fort Worth and the trips to San Diego and Boise are just as long as those being made to Louisville, Tampa, Huntington, and Pittsburgh.

[D-Unit]

Originally Posted by descendency

Huh? Any chance at playing in a legitimate conference just went out the window...

They're basically back in the WAC again.

Who needs a legitimate conference when there is one BCS Bowl bid that goes to a team from a non-BCS conference and nobody can stand in your way? BYU, Utah and TCU were the top teams contending for that spot against Boise every year. Utah and TCU are out of the picture now. BYU is a wild card, who knows what they were thinking. One thing's for sure... the path got a lot easier for Boise.

Get it?

[D-Unit]

Originally Posted by diabsoule

If you think about it, neither did TCU in the Mountain West. There aren't any mountains in Dallas/Fort Worth and the trips to San Diego and Boise are just as long as those being made to Louisville, Tampa, Huntington, and Pittsburgh.

Louisiana Tech in the WAC is horrendous.

[GB12]

Yeah, now all Boise State has to do is finish in the top 12 and they are guaranteed a BCS Bowl. Might not get them to a championship, but they have an extremely easy path to a BCS game.

[diabsoule]

Originally Posted by D-Unit

Louisiana Tech in the WAC is horrendous.

Probably the most out of place school geographically in any conference. La Tech fits more with C-USA or the Sun Belt than the WAC.

[MaxV]

Originally Posted by diabsoule

Here are a few choice quotes from TCU's AD Chris Del Conte from his press conference earlier today.

"Think about it. Geographically, the Cowboys play in the NFC East."

An excellent comparison.

Because there is no difference between Cowboys' players and TCU players.

[descendency]

Originally Posted by D-Unit

Who needs a legitimate conference when there is one BCS Bowl bid that goes to a team from a non-BCS conference and nobody can stand in your way? BYU, Utah and TCU were the top teams contending for that spot against Boise every year. Utah and TCU are out of the picture now. BYU is a wild card, who knows what they were thinking. One thing's for sure... the path got a lot easier for Boise.

Get it?

Got it. Thanks. Makes sense now.

[LizardState]

Originally Posted by BeerBaron

Well....TCU will certainly be the conference's best team right away.

Another reason why it's a big win-win-win for the Hornytoads.

They retain their Texas fanbase as Big East games will be on Texas TV screens & they get East Coast exposure. Better add for the Big East than Villanova too.

Only downside is the huge increase in travel mileage & expenses for TCU, lotta miles between Ft. Worth & Storrs, CN.

[bearsfan_51]

Originally Posted by LizardState

Only downside is the huge increase in travel mileage & expenses for TCU, lotta miles between Ft. Worth & Storrs, CN.

A lot more miles to Hawaii.

Even for the non-football sports, the difference between the East Coast to Texas and the West Coast to Texas is the same. I don't know how many times this needs to be said.

[BeerBaron]

Originally Posted by LizardState

They retain their Texas fanbase as Big East games will be on Texas TV screens & they get East Coast exposure. Better add for the Big East than Villanova too.

TCU being able to recruit in Texas while in a BCS conference that doesn't include Texas or Oklahoma will help too.

[diabsoule]

Possible split between football and basketball schools in the Big East looming?

http://www.projo.com/college/content...3.2f1cd26.html

[diabsoule]

Also, this is a great article that provides a link to an article previously written in the NY Times that breaks down the travel distances between TCU and the Big East and TCU and the Mountain West.

Avg. distance traveled by TCU if they would have stayed in the Mountain West: 1172 miles.
Avg. distance traveled by TCU being in the Big East: 1308 miles.

So, TCU is able to join a BCS conference and only has to travel 136 more miles on average per year to do so.

http://news.collegesportsinfo.com/20...s-between.html

[derza222]

Originally Posted by diabsoule

Also, this is a great article that provides a link to an article previously written in the NY Times that breaks down the travel distances between TCU and the Big East and TCU and the Mountain West.

Avg. distance traveled by TCU if they would have stayed in the Mountain West: 1172 miles.
Avg. distance traveled by TCU being in the Big East: 1308 miles.

So, TCU is able to join a BCS conference and only has to travel 136 more miles on average per year to do so.

http://news.collegesportsinfo.com/20...s-between.html

Well I'd imagine that's 136 miles per game that they're playing on average, so that would add up relatively quickly. Point taken though, it's not a major, major difference. Still though, that's a little over 2 more hours per trip. Does a nice job of demonstrating how the increased travel expenses are relatively negligible compared to the potential monetary gains though.

[bearsfan_51]

I imagine there are probably more flight options from Dallas to cities like Cincinnati, Louisville, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh than there are to Cody, Reno, and Fresno.

[diabsoule]

Originally Posted by derza222

Well I'd imagine that's 136 miles per game that they're playing on average, so that would add up relatively quickly. Point taken though, it's not a major, major difference. Still though, that's a little over 2 more hours per trip. Does a nice job of demonstrating how the increased travel expenses are relatively negligible compared to the potential monetary gains though.

Also, TCU would gain 1 to 2 hours on return trips back to Dallas rather than losing 1 to 2 hours on return trips like it does now seeing as it is the only school in the Central time zone in the Mountain West.

[6270410908]

People assuming TCU is going to storm through the Big East..they're not. The Big East is a grind on any team...you never see one team stay at the top for very long. And TCU isn't a huge national power full of 5 star recruits that will blow all the nor'eastern kids away. Especially when they lose Patterson, which is inevitable. They better hit a home run with his replacement or rather than dominating the BE they'll be scraps for the established teams.

[Smooth Criminal]

No one dominated the Big East for long because none ofthem are great programs. The Big East schools are simply not very good.

Itll be a step up in competition for TCU, but they would have dominated it this year certainly. Well see how they do recruiting and building until 2012, but they're definitely a solid program in conference that is pretty weak.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by bearsfan_51

I imagine there are probably more flight options from Dallas to cities like Cincinnati, Louisville, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh than there are to Cody, Reno, and Fresno.

You don't have to imagine; there are. DFW is situated right in the middle of the metroplex or they could even charter a flight from Ft. Worth Alliance.

[6270410908]

Originally Posted by Smooth Criminal

No one dominated the Big East for long because none ofthem are great programs. The Big East schools are simply not very good.

Itll be a step up in competition for TCU, but they would have dominated it this year certainly. Well see how they do recruiting and building until 2012, but they're definitely a solid program in conference that is pretty weak.

I agree that they'd have owned it this year. They have their stuff together, have a very good QB and Patterson would immediately be the best coach in the league. But whether they can sustain success, especially without Patterson, remains to be seen. Its not much different than past Big East teams that have hovered around the top 5 but haven't been able to stay there.