As we slogged our way through the latest installment of the Cam Newton imbroglio -- that’s for you, Billy Liucci -- and the completely expected firing of Colorado’s Dan Hawkins, a quasi-development in the TCU-to-Big East speculation got lost in the shuffle. So, we’ll take the opportunity now to take a whack at it.
As you no doubt have heard, the Big East announced last week that they will be expanding from eight to 10 football schools at some point in the future. TCU, rumored for months to be a potential target of the conference, once again shot to the top of the list of schools that could potentially find a new league home.
An offshoot of the rumors connecting the current Mountain West school to the Big East was the possibility that they could become a football-only member of the conference. In a telephone interview with the Sporting News’ Dave Curtis, however, athletic director Chris Del Conte tap the brakes on that line of speculation. Actually, he slammed on the brakes and sent it flying through the windshield.
“We’re an athletic department,” Del Conte told the website. “Whatever endeavor we do, you’re united as one. That’s who we are. That’s how we always compete. We compete as one unit.”
The AD then morphed into Bette Midler in acknowledging that a move from the Mountain West to the Big East could be a possibility, while also adding that it’s still just a bunch of rumors at this point in time.
“My sole job is to provide the wind beneath the wings for our teams to compete for championships, whatever that may be,” he said. “I will always look at the things we need. ...
“It’s a lot of rumors. It reminds me of high school. Who are you asking to go to the prom? Nothing has been done yet.”
Based on the behind-the-scenes talk, however, it seems only a matter of when, not if, TCU gets its official invitation to the automatic qualifying conference.