Getty Image / Kevin C. Cox
TCU and head coach Sonny Dykes were arguably the biggest story in college football last year. The Horned Frogs had an undefeated regular season under first-year-coach Sonny Dykes and advanced to the national championship game after beating Michigan in the College Football Playoffs Semifinals before getting crushed by the Georgia Bulldogs. Despite that great season, and a good two decades for the Fort Worth-based program, TCU is on the outside looking in when it comes to conference realignment.
Of course, it wasn’t that long ago when they weren’t even in the Power 5, as they were a member of the Mountain West Conference from 2005-2011, Conference USA and the WAC for a few years each, and the defunct Southwest Conference for over 70 years. TCU joined the Big 12 starting in the 2012 season and figured to have secured their place long-term in the college football landscape, only to find themselves on the outside looking in once again now.
With Texas and Oklahoma moving to the SEC and USC and UCLA to the Big Ten in 2024, the revenue gap between those two conferences and everyone else is going to be worth tens of millions of dollars per team per year.
And, conference realignment was a big subject at the first day of Big 12 Media Days on Wednesday at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said the conference is looking to expand, possibly soon.
Big 12's Brett Yormark asked about possibility of adding non-Power 5 school: "If they create value and align good with our goals and values. that's a conversation that's worth having"
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 12, 2023
But, the real story may have been Sonny Dykes pillaging teams that have left the Big 12 like Missouri and Texas A&M, and teams that will be leaving, in pointed comments.
Sonny Dykes with some scorching hot realignment takes.
“Missouri was playing in a lot of Big 12 championships… haven’t seen that much in the SEC. A&M was a competitive program, not as often now. I don’t know about you but UCLA and Rutgers feels like a natural rivalry to me.”
— Melissa Triebwasser (@TheCoachMelissa) July 12, 2023
Sheesh. Quite a shot at those programs. Someone is a little high and mighty following one good season in a bad conference.