TCU Joins Conference USA

October 11, 1999 / 7:40 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Texas Christian athletic officials welcomed an invitation Monday to Conference USA, calling it an investment in their future that would give the school more national prominence.

"Most of our out-of-state students come from the Midwestern corridor of the country, and as a member of C-USA, TCU will gain exposure to an extremely high percentage of the nation's population, the media centers and large urban areas of the Central and Eastern time zones," said athletic director Eric Hyman.

The Horned Frogs will become an all-sports member of the conference in the 2001-2002 academic year, joining the University of Houston as the second Texas team in the league.

Conference USA snubbed TCU's Dallas rival, Southern Methodist, which reportedly was under consideration as an invitee.

After 82 years of stability in the Southwest Conference, Texas schools have been two-stepping through conferences and shuffling allegiances for the past few years.

Texas Christian, Southern Methodist, Rice and the University of Houston were left behind when Baylor and Texas' three biggest state schools Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech joined the Big 12 in 1996.

Rice, SMU and TCU found a new home in the Western Athletic Conference, which grew to 16 teams, while UH was left to join the fledgling Conference USA.

Then in May 1998, eight schools none in Texas said they were bolting the conference after the 1998-99 season to form a league of their own. The defectors cited a lack a rivalries in the expanded conference, as well as rising travel costs and insufficient revenue growth.

With Texas Christian's invitation to join Conference USA, the Owls, Mustangs and Miners of the University of Texas-El Paso are the Texas schools remaining in the disintegrating WAC.

"The decision to join Conference USA is an investment in the future and is consistent with other investments and plans we are making in strengthening the national distinction and prominence of TCU in other areas. I believe also that this move will bring added recognition to Fort Worth as it positions itself among the leading cities of the nation," TCU Chancellor Michael R. Ferrari said in a prepared statement.