TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte didn't mince words when he announced the reason why TCU was leaving the Mountain West for the Big East."It was a wonderful conference, but it's not the same conference we joined," he said about the Mountain West during a press conference Monday. "Losing BYU and Utah was a significant blow to the conference. It's not the same home we bought. It's not the same home we were invited into."
The Horned Frogs will be an official Big East member in all sports on July 1, 2012.
Del Conte said talks about moving to the Big East started with Pittsburgh men's basketball coach Jamie Dixon, a TCU alum who was in Fort Worth when the Frogs played Baylor on Sept. 18. He and Del Conte started talking about what it would be like for TCU to be in the Big East and things were set in motion.
Rumors had been rampant that TCU had been extended an invitation, but the final decision didn't come down until Monday morning when the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to make the move in all sports.
"Having BCS automatic-qualifying status was a priority for our football program and a great reward for the success we've had the last decade under Gary Patterson," Del Conte said. "Keeping all our sports together was also critical. We are very excited to accomplish both these goals and look forward to our new home in the Big East Conference."
The move will greatly increase TCU's overall revenue. The 2010-11 BCS revenue estimates have each automatic qualifying team receiving about $21.2 million per year while the non-AQ conferences have to split a similar amount. Television revenue, depending on the Big East's new TV contract, could generate 10 times what TCU was earning in the Mountain West.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2010/11/29/tcu-to-big-east-as-mwc-not-same-home-without-utah-byu/
Lokelani McMichael Lori Heuring Lorri Bagley Lucy Liu Luján Fernández
No comments:
Post a Comment