FORT WORTH, Texas — TCU accepted an invitation to join the Big 12 on Monday night, ignoring the conference’s recent instability and seizing an opportunity to be a part of a league with natural geographic rivals.
“This is living proof that dreams do come true,” TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte said.
The move could provide some much-needed stability for the Big 12, which lost Nebraska (Big Ten) and Colorado (Pac-12) over the summer and will lose Texas A&M to the Southeastern Conference next year. Missouri is also exploring a move to the SEC.
The Horned Frogs went 13-0 last season and won the Rose Bowl. They also went undefeated in the 2009 season, then lost to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.
TCU competes in the Mountain West and was set to join the Big East next July. Instead, the Big 12 went public with its interest in TCU last week and set the stage for TCU to stay closer to home.
Del Conte said TCU will pay an exit fee, but declined to confirm it was the $5 million required by the Big East policy.
SEC leaders also met Monday for their regularly scheduled fall session but took no action on expansion. The league will have 13 members once Texas A&M joins in July.
