http://brett-mcmurphy.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/29532522/32536916

TCU has been invited to join the Big 12 Conference and is expected to accept the offer for the 2012-13 school year, college football industry sources told CBSSports.com.

TCU was scheduled to join the Big East on July 1, 2012, but instead will join the Big 12. By leaving the Big East before it officially became a member, the Horned Frogs will have to pay a $5 million exit fee but is not bound by the Big East’s 27 month requirement for notification.

The addition of TCU replaces Texas A&M, which is headed to the SEC. If Missouri remains in the league, sources said the Big 12 is expected to remain at 10 schools.

If Missouri leaves for the SEC, the Big 12 likely would add three more schools to get to 12. The leading candidates would be Louisville, BYU, West Virginia and Cincinnati.

The loss of TCU is another blow to the Big East. The league also lost Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC, but Commissioner John Marinatto has said previously the Big East would make Pitt and Syracuse stay the 27 months until 2014.

The Big 12 is still waiting to get a commitment from Missouri.

The only part that I don't like about this is that they are thinking of stopping at 10 if Missouri stays. I would say it needs to go back to the full 12 or up to 14 and be done with it. Getting BYU, West Virginia, Louisville and Cincy should be done now before they get caught with their pants down again.

Yeah, I just seen this on ESPN and was wondering what the specifics were cause I just caught the very end of the breaking news report.

TCU does not bring much, but I'm not opposed as long as we invite others. If the Big 12 wants to stay alive it needs to get to 12 or 14. TCU would not have been the first school I invited so I hope they're not the last.

Yeah, we really need BYU, UNLV, and Notre Dame! How awesome would it be to have UNLV in our conference!

Official Statement from TCU - http://www.newsevents.tcu.edu/2382.asp

Included below is a statement from TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini Jr. TCU will have no further comment today.

"These discussions with the Big 12 have huge implications for TCU. It will allow us to return to old rivalries, something our fans and others have been advocating for many years. As always, we must consider what’s best for TCU and our student-athletes in this ever-changing landscape of collegiate athletics. We look forward to continuing these discussions with the Big 12."

Kilgore,

I agree that TCU doesn't bring much. They have had a very good football program the last couple of years, so that means more TV time for the Big 12. However I agree, we must go back to 12 or up to 14 to survive. SEC will be at 14 soon enough and I think the PAC-12 will look at it in a year or two.

Hopefully they are on the phone with Air Force and BYU right now. I'm a little iffy on West Virginia with them being so far away from the rest of the conference. Houston would have been a decent one to add, but we have TCU instead. Louisville and Cincy would help bridge a gap to WVU and add to the Big 12 footprint quite a bit.

Yeah, we really need BYU, UNLV, and Notre Dame! How awesome would it be to have UNLV in our conference!

Why would that be awesome?

I say get 2 or 4 more TX teams into the conference and we can call it Big Tex and the little guys LOL

It would be awsome to bring along Utah state(who should be 4-0) with BYU to keep the rivalry alive!

There is 0 chance with either UNLV (won't get invited) or Notre Dame (won't accept invite). I've heard there have been some complications with BYU that might prevent them getting an invite. I've heard the most likely teams that will get invitations (if we expand further which OU and Texas do not want) are Louisville, West Virginia, and then Cincy. We'll see what happens... No one really knows at this point.

I say get 2 or 4 more TX teams into the conference and we can call it Big Tex and the little guys LOL

Big 12 ADs have indicated that no more Texas schools will be invited beyond TCU.

Why would that be awesome?


Just a little sarcastic...

I see none of this as awesome. We've lost Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M and likely Missouri and we're replacing them with TCU, maybe BYU, Louisville, West Virginia or Cincinnati????? It seems like making the best of a bad situation. If I were a 5 star recruit and I had a chance to play in the SEC against the likes of Alabama, Florida, LSU, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, or I could play in the Big Whatever against Texas, Iowa State, Kansas, Cincinnati, Louisville, TCU, it wouldn't be too difficult to pick the SEC. There will be far more media attention paid to the SEC than the Little Ten Plus Two. It will hurt our national rankings to play those teams as opposed to Nebraska, Missouri and A&M, and we will end up with far worse television ratings. Circularly, that We're basically turning ourselves into the equivalent of the ACC without any new basketball powerhouses to make up for our football inadequacies. I wish I didn't have really, really bad feelings about this, but I do.

Recruits don't pick conferences they pick schools. Very few will actually decide where to go based on a school's conference affiliation. As long as your product is strong it will have to ability to succeed.

Even though we lost better schools you have to remember that Texas A&M and Mizzou have been middle-of-the-road Big 12 teams for the last decade. Nebraska just recently became decent again after being mediocre for a almost a decade. Colorado is one of the worst BCS football schools in the entire country. Having said that they are solid schools that could improve or return to past success. Still, West Virginia has been a better program over the last decade than any school that left. The Big 12 is definitely worse, but it will still be in the top 2-4 conferences in the U.S.

It will hurt our national rankings to play those teams as opposed to Nebraska, Missouri and A&M, and we will end up with far worse television ratings.

Since OU annouced it was staying in the Big XII OU has dropped from #1 to #3 despite easily winning both game. So who passed OU? Two SEC teams.

Since OU annouced it was staying in the Big XII OU has dropped from #1 to #3 despite easily winning both game. So who passed OU? Two SEC teams.

Which had absolutely nothing to do with them dropping to third!!

Since OU annouced it was staying in the Big XII OU has dropped from #1 to #3 despite easily winning both game. So who passed OU? Two SEC teams.

It's all a conspiracy man. (puff puff pass)

Which had absolutely nothing to do with them dropping to third!!

Say what you want but media voters in both the southeast and west coast (SEC and PAC12) changed their mind for some reason.

Say what you want but media voters in both the southeast and west coast (SEC and PAC12) changed their mind for some reason.

Because LSU beat up West Virginia on the road, and then Alabama destroyed Florida. They felt that was better than Ball State/Missouri.

When is the last time the #1 team won, and dropped from #1? I prefer to think media members in Southeast and West Coast voted OU #1 partially expecting that OU would be joining their conference. When that didn't happen voters responded accordingly. We may never know.

Lots of teams will be Florida this year. Five did it last year. Plus, OU beast FSU (on the road I might add) in week 2 who was ranked #5 at the time.

I don't have the polls from previous years memorized, but I have seen it. Rare? Absolutely, but not unheard of.

OU has a big chance to make up ground by beating Texas into a pulp.

I don't have the polls from previous years memorized, but I have seen it. Rare? Absolutely, but not unheard of.

OU has a big chance to make up ground by beating Texas into a pulp.

I think it happened to Georgia back in 08 or whichever year it was they were ranked #1 in the preseason polls and a few weeks in the regular season.

The other news out today...


Conference bylaws will reflect that no member institution branded outlet will show high school games or highlights, noting that it is permissible pursuant to NCAA interpretation to use scores, standings and statistics of high school games; and, that additional games beyond the one member institution retained football game for telecast purposes must be approved by both institutions and both Conference telecast partners.

This should take care of TLN broadcasting high school content. Yeah it'll have a recruiting advantage, to a point, still...but it has been brought down from what it was originally planning to be. Missouri did abstain from the votes today to approve that deal and TCU, so either they are completely out the door or will come back in a couple of weeks and say they are staying. Either way, they need to decide now so the conference can move forward with the additional invites.

Say what you want but media voters in both the southeast and west coast (SEC and PAC12) changed their mind for some reason.

You're kidding, right? It's because Alabama and LSU played tough games and were dominant. They looked like the 2 best teams in the country. If OU keeps winning they'll play for the title.

Here is another example of Just the Facts just throwing ridiculous crap to the wall to see if it sticks. Go look at the freakin' voters. The change came from the entire coutnry after watching games, not just SEC country. Good lord.

Say what you want but media voters in both the southeast and west coast (SEC and PAC12) changed their mind for some reason.

Because LSU and Alabama played better teams and had more convincing wins.

Not impressed with this invite or any of the other potential invites. Another boom to DFW which already cashes big oklahoma checks in Oct. This current and future conference alignment for lack of a better word SUCKS!

I see none of this as awesome. We've lost Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M and likely Missouri and we're replacing them with TCU, maybe BYU, Louisville, West Virginia or Cincinnati????? It seems like making the best of a bad situation. If I were a 5 star recruit and I had a chance to play in the SEC against the likes of Alabama, Florida, LSU, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, or I could play in the Big Whatever against Texas, Iowa State, Kansas, Cincinnati, Louisville, TCU, it wouldn't be too difficult to pick the SEC. There will be far more media attention paid to the SEC than the Little Ten Plus Two. It will hurt our national rankings to play those teams as opposed to Nebraska, Missouri and A&M, and we will end up with far worse television ratings. Circularly, that We're basically turning ourselves into the equivalent of the ACC without any new basketball powerhouses to make up for our football inadequacies. I wish I didn't have really, really bad feelings about this, but I do.

Betts, I must agree with you. As an OU alum, I am very disappointed in what has transpired. People can try to "spin" this thing any way they would like but OU got mauled in this situation and found out just how invaluable it is (academically) without Texas. This new conference alignment does absolutely nothing to make me want to cheer for the Sooners as I have all my life. I'm bummed not elated.

I find this addition bor-ing...

Yay...another Texas school...and one with little or no tradition. Blah.

Major college football is in a state of chaos. There is no leadership whatsoever coming from the NCAA. They should have put a freeze on all of this realignment last year and looked at everything from a position of strength as the governing body - rather than the pathetic spectators they have become. If they didn't do it last year or last month, they can do it tomorrow morning. All of this needs to be looked at comprehensively and make sure that what's being done is being done in the best interests of college football - not just one conference, not just one big team in a conference, so on and so forth. This anarchy is happening in a vacuum of leadership.

Another school I'm hearing talk about today to join the Big 12 is Tulane. I'm thinking, YUCK.

Another school I'm hearing talk about today to join the Big 12 is Tulane. I'm thinking, YUCK.

Tulane???? Please edit your comment the way Steve does.

Tulane???? Please edit your comment the way Steve does.

I'm sorry. I have no idea what you mean.

I'm sorry. I have no idea what you mean.

When Steve makes a smart remark and then feels like it's pointless he edit's his comment to say "xxx".

I'm just playing with you though of course.

When Steve makes a smart remark and then feels like it's pointless he edit's his comment to say "xxx".

I'm just playing with you though of course.

It's cool. "xxx"

It's cool. "xxx"

:LolLolLol

What about Tulsa? They don't have much value, but at least it benefits OK and doesn't add another Tejas team

You're kidding, right? It's because Alabama and LSU played tough games and were dominant. They looked like the 2 best teams in the country. If OU keeps winning they'll play for the title.

Did voters not know the schedules before the season started? Sure LSU beat West Virginia, but they also played Northwestern St which is a Division 2 team. Alabama played Kent St, North Texas and still has Georgia Southern (another Div 2 team) on the schedule.

Anyhow, we got off track.

Did voters not know the schedules before the season started? Sure LSU beat West Virginia, but they also played Northwestern St which is a Division 2 team. Alabama played Kent St, North Texas and still has Georgia Southern (another Div 2 team) on the schedule.

Huh? Voters don't make decisions prior to the season. They actually make judgments based on what happens in games. You can move past teams with good performances. It doesn't matter anyway. If OU wins out they'll be fine.

I find this addition bor-ing...

Yay...another Texas school...and one with little or no tradition. Blah.

Actually TCU does have tradition!They claim two National Titles and with the likes of LT and Davey O'brien,they have just as good of tradition as most Big 12 schools!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TCU_Horned_Frogs

I'm not worried about OU being #1 or #3, I was simply applying fact to Betts' comment. Losing the top members of the conference will hurt our ranking. Despite being 4-0 and outscoring opponets 170 to 61 OU has dropped 2 places since announcing they were staying in the Big XII.

I'm not worried about OU being #1 or #3, I was simply applying fact to Betts' comment. Losing the top members of the conference will hurt our ranking. Despite being 4-0 and outscoring opponets 170 to 61 OU has dropped 2 places since announcing they were staying in the Big XII.

And losing conference members has nothing to do with it. Let go of it. It's a ridiculous and unfounded opinion which makes your name ("Just the Facts") more hypocritical everytime you hang on to one of your silly arguments.

TCU To Join The Big 12


By Pete Fiutak
http://twitter.com/CFBNews

The Big 12 had to make a quick and decisive move of some sort just to show it’s still a league worth being a part of, and while bringing in TCU isn't like the SEC getting Texas A&M, it's a move. If nothing else, TCU’s decision to forgo its move to the Big East cements the idea the Big 12 is more viable than the Big East. And while the addition of TCU won’t make up for the loss of A&M and, possibly, Missouri, it’s a decent show of strength at the right time.

This makes sense for TCU, since the Big East soon is going to be nothing more than an advanced version of Conference USA in the near future, if it's a football conference at all, but this goes against what interim Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas has said he wanted to do. His vision specifically called for expansion to be outside of Texas, since the league already has the state’s TV markets wrapped up with Texas, Texas Tech, and Baylor, and now his plan appears to be 1) to simply survive and 2) give Texas cannon fodder for the Longhorn Network.

The Big 12 apparently has a new strategy and a new plan for trying to remain a viable conference: make Texas as happy as possible by giving the school another playmate for its network.

The only reason Texas isn’t out the door is because the Pac-12 demanded a piece of the Longhorn Network pie. If Pac-12 presidents allowed Texas to keep all the revenue for itself, new logos would be coming out for a Pac-16 with Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State joining. Even with Texas apparently off the Pac-12 table, OU and OSU are on shaky footing with the Big 12 and are gone for the asking, and despite the SEC’s comments to the contrary – remember the initial “rejection” of Texas A&M – Missouri is still in play Neinas had to do something to stop the bleeding and make some sort of a proactive move to bring in live name programs, and TCU is a nice midrange get.

By doing this, though, even with Oklahoma still demanding a different revenue structure, the Big 12 is doubling down on the Longhorn Network by providing more programming for Texas and the state. While the network will be national, it’s not going to be for the casual fan. It’s a Texas network for die-hard Texas fans, and being able to put TCU sports on it will make the Longhorns happy and will get the Horned Frog fans more interested. Texas really, really, really likes being Texas, and while the school and the football program might want a national reach, the reality is that all that matters is what happens within the state’s borders.

So now, does the Big 12 go full bore Texas? Does it table the idea of being more geographically diverse and base its business-model on owning Texas?

The next natural move will then be to bring in SMU and Houston to make Texas even happier. The Big 12 certainly doesn’t need to improve the Dallas TV viewership by bringing in the Mustangs, but taking on Houston, after losing Texas A&M to the SEC, grabs a little bit of the pie back from the southeastern part of the state.

Texas will always be able to schedule games against big national programs at any time. Already scheduled and in the books are home-and-homes with Ole Miss in 2012 and 2013, BYU in 2013 and 2014, Notre Dame in 2015 and 2016, Cal in 2015 and 2016, Maryland in 2017 and 2018, USC in 2017 and 2018, and Notre Dame again in 2019 and 2020. National exposure will never be a problem for the Longhorns, and having more games against Texas teams as filler excites the fan base and, again, helps out the new network. Any time any Texas school appears on the Longhorn Network, the viewers will come.

But Neinas now has to think even bigger and more outside the box, like he talked about doing from the start. to try to do something to make Oklahoma want to stick around. Money and revenue sharing is a start, but that comes with getting stronger programs outside of the state of Texas. TCU is a Band-aid, and now the discussions have to keep going forward about possibly bringing in BYU, Boise State, and possibly someone like Louisville, Southern Miss, or Memphis just to do something to expand outside of the Texas borders a bit.

But for now, the move of bringing in TCU is a natural one, and for the school, it’s home.

Cast out into the abyss of the WAC in 1996, TCU was passed over in the initial formation of the Big 12, and now, being added into the league become validation for all the great things the football program has done on and off the field.

There hasn’t been a hint of trouble and there hasn’t been a whiff of scandal, but more than anything else, the football team has won and won and won.

Since going 1-10 in 1997, the Horned Frogs have gone to 12 bowl games and while working their way into the national title discussion in each of the last two seasons. After beating Wisconsin in the 2011 Rose Bowl and going to 2010 Fiesta Bowl, since the Big 12 was formed, TCU has as many BCS appearances than Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Missouri, Iowa State, and Kansas combined. Kansas State has two BCS appearances, but hasn’t been in one since 2003.

But as good as TCU football has been, it’s not going to move the needle on any Big 12 TV contracts going forward and it’s not going to be enough to appease Missouri or Oklahoma if and when they get a better offer. Neinas is working on making everyone happy and is trying to keep everyone at home, but Missouri has already set the wheels in motion to leave and Oklahoma still has one eye on the Pac-12.

At the very least, by getting TCU the Big 12 has shown that it’ll remain viable in some way no matter what happens to some of the bigger programs. It might not be as great if it loses Missouri, and it might stagger in a big way if it loses Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, but it’ll still be alive.

For now, and for worried programs like Iowa State, Kansas, and Kansas State, that’s enough. And for Texas, it has a new playmate.

And new programming options.

Big XII will be on par with the Big East especially if Mizzou leaves...Pretty sad to see it crumble and TCU, BYU and Louisville frankly aren't very exciting additions

I'm not worried about OU being #1 or #3, I was simply applying fact to Betts' comment. Losing the top members of the conference will hurt our ranking. Despite being 4-0 and outscoring opponets 170 to 61 OU has dropped 2 places since announcing they were staying in the Big XII.

Your'e hinting that OU dropped because they are staying in the Big 12 is pure nonsense. (nonsense is polite for BS)

According to this interactive map it is the west coast media that has dropped OU the most in the rankings.

http://eye-on-collegefootball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/24156338/32475631

and of course TX is taking credit for saving the Big XII

http://dennis-dodd.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6270202/32540758

and of course TX is taking credit for saving the Big XII

http://dennis-dodd.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6270202/32540758

That's a good thing? Thanks for nothing, Texas. I wish we were out of the Big Whatever.

I say we throw Texas and Mizzou the middle finger while on our way to the SEC. One hand up North, the other down South.

I say we throw Texas and Mizzou the middle finger while on our way to the SEC. One hand up North, the other down South.

Did I miss seeing some invite to the SEC prom arrive in the mail?

With TCU in the conference, TexASS will have to play them now. No more De Loss Dodging TCU! TexASS hates playing other Texas schools. The Texas players in other Texas schools always get motivated to play TexASS becuase TexASS did not recruit them.

Did I miss seeing some invite to the SEC prom arrive in the mail?

No, no you did not my sir.

Big XII will be on par with the Big East especially if Mizzou leaves...Pretty sad to see it crumble and TCU, BYU and Louisville frankly aren't very exciting additions

Wrong. The weakened Big 12 is still lightyears ahead of the Big East when it was at it's strongest. The Big East is in way worse shape than the Big 12 these days.
I font like that the Big 12 is weakened, but if you check the rankings it is still a top 2-4 conference.

Did I miss seeing some invite to the SEC prom arrive in the mail?


Nope and so far I don't think Missouri has got one yet either. Wouldn't that be a blow to their ego if the SEC turned them down.

Nope and so far I don't think Missouri has got one yet either. Wouldn't that be a blow to their ego if the SEC turned them down.

Looking that way. Apparently they have the support of the majority of SEC presidents, but not the nine needed. Alabama is opposed... I'm sure that will carry some weight too.

Wrong. The weakened Big 12 is still lightyears ahead of the Big East when it was at it's strongest. The Big East is in way worse shape than the Big 12 these days.
I font like that the Big 12 is weakened, but if you check the rankings it is still a top 2-4 conference.

I believe the Big 12 has the best win/loss record right now out of all conferences and we have 5 teams in the Top 25. Not too shabby. Losing A&M for TCU is pretty much a like replacement when it comes to a team in the Top 25 and their annual performance. Well I take that back...TCU actually has done really well recently. However, I would expect them to get knocked down a peg as they face better Big 12 teams. Of course that will also help their recruiting.

Nope and so far I don't think Missouri has got one yet either. Wouldn't that be a blow to their ego if the SEC turned them down.

Turned down by the Big 10 then the SEC in a span of 2 years? If that don't give them an ego check then nothing will.

If Missouri ends up going to the SEC, I see this as the future of the Big XII Conference.

North Division

Boise State
Brigham Young
Air Force
Kansas
Kansas State
Iowa State


South Division

Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Texas Christian
Texas Tech
Texas
Baylor

That is one TERRIBLE north division

That is one TERRIBLE north division

Alright, let's see your image of the North and South.