TCU's Shameful Move

When the Big 12 was formed, Texas Christian University was not invited to join, despite the fact that its in-state rivals (Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech) all were. Instead, TCU had to go join the Mountain West Conference, and live in college football obscurity as a traditionally great program stuck outside the BCS.

TCU was still able to create a national brand for itself with excellent play each season, and even took home a BCS Bowl game over Wisconsin. Still, it wasn't enough for the Horned Frogs. They wanted to be in the discussion every year, so they negotiated a deal to join the Big East, the worst of the BCS football conferences, in 2012. It was a shame that TCU was leaving the Mountain West, a very good football conference in its own right. But who could blame them? They were simply playing a system that refused (and still refuses) to change and accommodate some of its best teams.

It seemed TCU was walking into a dream situation, because they would be able to run through the Big East just about every year and play in a BCS Bowl as a result. Then the conferences around the country really started shaking up. The Big 10 became a 12-team conference, the Big 12 became a 10-team conference, the Big East fell apart and the Pac-10 almost became a 16-team conference. As things began to look more and more bleak for the Big 12, they reached out to TCU. The Horned Frogs, despite the snub they had gotten from the conference earlier, jumped at the opportunity and turned their agreement with the Big East into a Qwikster-esque joke.

Sure, it makes more sense for TCU to be playing in the Big 12. That's where their rivals are. But whatever happened to sticking to a commitment? The conference realignments that have taken place over the past few weeks have been an embarrassment to college sports, highlighted by TCU's jumping ship before it even had the chance to participate in a Big East game. Before, the NCAA and universities' boards of directors tried to pull the veil over our eyes and tell us college sports were pure, just athletes competing because they enjoyed playing and had pride in their schools. It's clear now that just isn't the case. The draw of college sports was in the passion we saw on the fields and courts, and now it has been tainted.

Even a great mid-major program, the type of team that a true fan of the sport loves to see (think George Mason or Butler in basketball), has now fallen victim to this greed bug. TCU certainly did not start college sports on their way to oblivion, but for me it marks that we are most definitely closing in. TCU used to take the hard road: it overcame disadvantages in recruiting, size, talent and money, and competed with its bigger neighbors every year. They used to be inspiring to watch. There is nothing inspiring about what they're doing now.

Just another story of seeing nothing but dollar signs in front of their faces, and nothing else mattering.