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The dream scenario makes Danny Morrison a little giddy. Super Bowl XLV is still more than 19 months away, but that means the TCU athletic director has plenty of time to reap the benefits from TCU hosting the AFC team the week before the Super Bowl.
TCU is the only college in the North Texas area that has an official function, and that should create a public relations bonanza.There is little doubt what the biggest could be. What if TCU-ex LaDainian Tomlinson can somehow prolong his running back magic and the San Diego Chargers manage to represent the AFC in the North Texas Super Bowl?That would mean the Chargers would practice at TCU for the week leading up to the Super Bowl on Feb. 6, 2011, and do you think there might be some promotional and recruiting possibilities tied into Tomlinson’s return to TCU?"That’d be fantastic," Morrison said, laughing and smiling at the suggestion. "We would love that. That would be great. That would be special for LaDainian and any of our TCU players in the NFL. It would be wonderful having them on the Super Bowl team and using the TCU facilities."Yes, it would be beneficial for TCU to set up that photo shoot with Tomlinson in a Chargers uniform standing in front of a photo of Tomlinson in his TCU uniform. That would make a nice little recruiting brochure to send to every top running back in the country — and also a few large offensive linemen.Tomlinson, who is in town to run his football camp, said he would like to be in any Super Bowl. But to be with the Chargers, practice at TCU and stay at the Omni Fort Worth downtown the week before the Super Bowl and then play it in Arlington would be a great homecoming."It would be nice," he said. "I’d be able to show the guys, 'Hey, this is my school.’ Brag a little bit."Former Dallas Cowboys executive Gil Brandt said that regardless of the AFC representative, TCU will benefit from being the only college connected with the event."I think they’ll get a lot of positive recruiting things out of it," Brandt said. "The exposure TCU is going to get will be absolutely unbelievable. The facilities they have are state of the art. Their indoor facility is fantastic, and the practice fields are fantastic."People won’t see them during practices because practices will be closed. But a lot of people will be coming over to grab people after practice and there is going to be a lot of talk about how great their facilities are. It can really help their program."Morrison is excited about the possibilities of increasing TCU’s profile and desirability to high school football players, but he also said that the benefits to the Fort Worth business and entertainment communities will be significant."We feel like it will be a good recruiting thing for us and good exposure for TCU," Morrison said. "You’ve got national and international media all reporting from your campus and the visual images of the facilities make a difference. I think that people that have hosted Super Bowl practices in the past have seen a bounce and a benefit from it."The most important thing is that an AFC team will be staying in Fort Worth. We feel like there’s so much to showcase in Fort Worth and it took a concerted effort with us, the hotels and the community to get it done."The key component in TCU’s presentation to the NFL was the Sam Baugh Indoor Practice Facility, which opened two years ago. SMU was also interested in hosting one of the Super Bowl teams and it also has good facilities, too. But it does not have an indoor facility, and that is crucial in early February. TCU also opened the Meyer-Martin Athletic Complex last year, and it has 40,000 square feet of meeting space and a players lounge that will provide ample room for an NFL team and all the functions necessary to prepare for the Super Bowl."Their indoor practice facility is just something that is unmatched — even outside of Texas," said Bill McConnell, the NFL’s director of event operations. "What they have done not only on the field but off the field is visionary. They’ve got something special going on there, and we’re happy to be a part of it."The big event is still more than a year away, but TCU is hoping the benefits will be evident much sooner.Jan Hubbard, 817-390-7760
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